Career
Nikitin spent his junior career skating in the Avangard Omsk hockey system. He was a regular on Russia’s under-18 and under-20 national squads and spent several seasons skating in the professional Russian Superleague (RSL) with Avangard, establishing himself as a strong Superleague-calibre defenceman. Nikitin was drafted by the Saint Louis Blues with the 136th overall selection in the 2004 National Hockey League Entry Draft.
On 14 June 2010, he was signed by the Blues to an entry-level National Hockey League contract.
He scored his first National Hockey League goal on 6 February 2011 against Dan Ellis of the Tampa Bay Lightning. He was traded on 10 November 2011, to the Columbus Blue Jackets for defenceman Kris Russell.
After Columbus agreed to give the Edmonton Oilers permission to negotiate with Nikitin on 20 June 2014, Nikitin and Edmonton agreed to a two-year deal worth an annual average value of $4.5 million, and his rights were traded to Edmonton on 25 June, where he immediately signed the new contract.