The single most important aspect of the contract extension signed by Nik Lewis is that the Stampeders have locked up one of the very best receivers in the Canadian Football League. And since Lewis won’t turn 27 until the eve of training camp, there presumably are a number of Nik Lewis-type seasons in store for the Stampeders and their fans.

Taking into consideration Lewis’ talent level, his age and his growing longevity in a Stampeders uniform, it’s interesting to note that No. 82 has a chance to put himself among the very best pass-catchers in the history of the Red and White before he calls it quits.

After just five seasons at McMahon, Lewis already ranks seventh in franchise history in both receptions (384) and receiving yards (5,748) and eighth in touchdown catches (37). If in 2009 he puts up numbers in line with his career averages, he’ll either or approach the career totals of such Stampeders greats as David Sapunjis, Vince Danielsen, Travis Moore and Herm (Ham Hands) Harrison. Next up would be Tom Forzani, with only the other otherworldly numbers posted by Allen Pitts seem out of Lewis’ reach.

For that matter, Lewis already has a couple of team records all to himself — five straight seasons of 1,000 yards receiving and an active record of 88 games played in a row with at least one catch.

Of course it helps Lewis that the opposition can’t focus all of its attention on him. Not when the CFL’s 2008 rushing champion, Joffrey Reynolds, sets up in the Calgary backfield and that, in addition to Lewis, Grey Cup MVP Henry Burris can target quality receivers such Ken-Yon Rambo, Jeremaine Copeland, Brett Ralph, Ryan Thelwell and Teyo Johnson.

Rambo and Copeland — who joined the Stamps in 2005, one season after Lewis was the CFL’s rookie of the year — are also climbing Calgary’s all-time charts. As a matter of fact, there’s a reasonable chance that Lewis, Copeland and Rambo will statistically rank among the Top 10 receivers in Stamps history by the time the final gun is fired on the 2009 campaign. That’s fairly remarkable considering the Stamps have been in business for 64 years.

Here’s are the Stamps’ all-time receiving leaders:

Receptions

1. Allen Pitts 966
2. Tom Forzani 553
3. Travis Moore 470
4. Vince Danielsen 468
5. David Sapunjis 460
6. Herm Harrison 443
7. Nik Lewis 384
8. Rudy Linterman 368
9. Gerry Shaw 313
10. Terry Vaughn 308
11. Willie Burden 299
12. Kelvin Anderson 294
13. Willie Armstead 292
14. Terry Evanshen 291
15. Ken-Yon Rambo 266
16. Emanuel Tolbert 260
17. Jeremaine Copeland 237

Yardage

1. Pitts 14,891
2. Forzani 8,285
3. Moore 7,536
4. Harrison 6,693
5. Sapunjis 6,586
6. Danielsen 6,068
7. Lewis 5,748
8. Armstead 5,425
9. Evanshen 4,815
10. Linterman 4,809
11. Tolbert 4,752
12. Shaw 4,732
13. Larry Willis 4,328
14. Vaughn 4,257
15. Copeland 4,063
16. Rambo 3,949

TD catches

1. Pitts 117
2. Forzani 62
3. Moore 57
4. Armstead 50
5. Sapunjis 46
6. Harrison 43
7. Evanshen 43
8. Lewis 37
9. Shaw 34
10. Danielsen 33
11. Copeland 31
12. Tolbert 30
13. Willis 29
14. Derrick Crawford 27
15. Rambo 26