Lewis was considered one of the fastest players of his era. He played 11 seasons in the NHL and helped the Detroit Red Wings win the Stanley Cup for the first time in 1936, then repeat as champions in 1937.

The Calgary native was listed at 5-foot-9, 163 pounds, but used his speed and tenacity to overcome his lack of size and become one of the best defensive forwards in the NHL.

Lewis starred for the Calgary Hustlers of the Calgary City Junior League in 1921-22 and the Calgary Canadiens of the Calgary City League in 1922-23 and 1923-24 before joining Duluth of the United States Amateur Hockey Association in 1924-25. With Duluth, which moved to the Central Amateur Hockey League in 1925-26 and the American Hockey Association in 1926-27, Lewis picked up the nickname ìThe Duke of Duluthî that followed him to the NHL when he joined the Detroit Cougars (later renamed Falcons and then Red Wings) in 1928-29.

Skating mostly on a line with right wing Larry Aurie and a variety of centers, Lewis had 308 points (147 goals, 161 assists) in 484 regular-season games for Detroit, including NHL career highs of 20 goals in 48 games in 1932-33 and 43 points (16 goals, 27 assists) in 47 games in 1934-35.

Lewis, who was captain of the Red Wings in 1933-34, finished with eight points, including a League-high six goals, in nine games during the 1934 Stanley Cup Playoffs, when Detroit reached the Stanley Cup Final for the first time before losing to the Chicago Black Hawks. He had five points (two goals, three assists) in seven playoff games in 1936, including the primary assist on Pete Kelly's Cup-winning goal in Game 4 of the Final against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Detroit won the Cup again the following season, defeating the New York Rangers in the Final, and Lewis led the NHL with four playoff goals in 10 games. He finished his career with 24 points (14 goals, 10 assists) in 38 playoff games.

After the 1938-39 season, Lewis left Detroit to become player-coach of the Indianapolis of the International American Hockey League. He retired as a player during the 1940-41 season (when the league name was shortened to American Hockey League) and coached Indianapolis to the Calder Cup in 1942.

Lewis was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the veteran player category in 1989. He was 84 when he died on Jan. 20, 1991.