Jim Morris – CFL.ca

Nik Lewis never was satisfied with just being part of a CFL team.

The powerful slotback wanted to dominate. His mission was to punish on the field and lead in the locker room.

For much of his career Lewis lived that role. Then injuries and time took their toll.

“Three years ago my mindset was to dominate every game,” said Lewis.

The 33-year-old, who won two Grey Cups with the Calgary Stampeders, is entering his second season with the Montreal Alouettes feeling totally healthy for the first in nearly three years. He’s also adapted a different role. He might not be the Alouettes’ big wheel, but he’s certainly an important spoke.

He now sees his job as making sure receivers like S.J. Green, Duron Carter and Sam Giguere have room to operate. If an opponent decides to double team one of them, Lewis still has the size and savvy to make the big catch.

“If I can help lead these guys to get the best out of them, and I can do my part, I think we can all be successful,” he said. “It’s more of a team concept now.

“I would love to go out and get 1,000 yards. You realize in the grand scheme what it’s going to take each game. I have to allow teams not to double anyone on our team. I am putting it on myself to make plays to not allow teams to cheat.”

Some star players leave a tarnish on their career by failing to acknowledge time has crept up on them.

Jim Popp, Montreal’s general manager and head coach, said Lewis puts the team ahead of himself.

“I do think he’s a different player than two or three or four years ago,” said Popp. “He was very effective for us (last year) not just on the field but in the locker room.

“With us he really took a mentor role. He really went out of his way to help people, younger guys. He truly wanted to see them succeed. He was a very calming factor in the locker room for a lot of guys.”

Lewis spent 11 seasons with the Stampeders before signing with Montreal as a free agent last year. He went from being the go-to guy in Calgary to being one of the guys to go to with the Als.

“When I was called upon to make plays I made plays,” he said. “The rest of the time I did what I had to do.

“I just tried to stay involved anyway I could. I felt as the year went on I got more involved in the offence.”

He finished the year with 70 catches for 743 yards, second only to Green.

“I can go out there and have a better year this year,” he said.

Beginning in 2004, when he was named rookie of the year, Lewis had nine straight 1,000-yard seasons. That streak was snapped in 2013 when his year came to a painful end with a fractured fibula in Week 8.

The next year, hobbled by an ankle that still hadn’t fully recovered, Lewis managed just 37 catches for 377 yards.

“I had no power,” said Lewis. “It was a hard situation for me . . . for the team and the coaches.

“I knew I really couldn’t do a lot more than what I was doing.”

The ankle still hindered Lewis’s training prior to last year. He couldn’t work out for more than two days in a row and he was limited to mostly cardio vascular work.

On the field Lewis lacked power and couldn’t bulldoze his way through tacklers. He also had trouble planting his foot when running a route.

“If you don’t have confidence in that plant or that cut, it will slow yourself down and you’re not going to be fluid in your routes,” he said.

This winter Lewis finally felt himself. He spent hours in the gym working on complex jumps and weights.

“I believe this will be the first year since my injury that I’ll be able to be how I was before the injury,” he said. “I really feel like I’m going to get my explosion back. My power is coming back.

“I have an opportunity to go out there and get it done.”

Besides the physical drain last year, Lewis also had to deal with being part of a 6-12 team. It was the first time since 2004 he played on a team that missed the playoffs. The Stampeders lost a total of 13 games in Lewis’s previous three seasons.

The situation was even more confusing considering the Als’ talent.

“In my mind I thought ‘how do you lose with this lineup,’” Lewis said.

“It’s definitely a change in mentality. You have to teach the winning traditions and you have to understand winning is not easy. Most of the games in the CFL come down to a couple of possessions near the end of the game.”

A healthy Lewis can play an important role as the Als try and script a different season. He still has the sure hands to catch a ball in traffic. At five-foot-10 and 240 pounds, he also possesses the boulder of a body to roll over tacklers.

“When he has the ball in his hands, he almost becomes that big power fullback we see in the NFL,” Popp said. “Guys are scared to tackle him.”

Lewis is focused on team success, not personal goals.

“You can tell he’s at peace, accepting his role,” said Popp.

“He going to do what we ask him to do. He did it last year and he’s going to do it moving forward.”

Lewis knows he’s in the twilight of his career. He’s married and has a young child. He isn’t afraid of retirement but believes he can contribute to making Montreal a Grey Cup contender.

“My body is healthy, my ankle is able,” he said. “Now it’s just being able to put myself in the position to be explosive and be that player I used to be.”