Arizona Coyotes 2015-16 Player Grades: Viktor Tikhonov

With the Arizona Coyotes 2015-16 season complete, it’s time to dive into each player’s performance and make a final tally on how they fared in the 2015-16 season.

A former first round draft pick of the Arizona Coyotes, Viktor Tikhonov returned to the club that drafted him in 2015-16 after a short stint with the Chicago Blackhawks.

The 28-year-old winger was claimed by former general manager Don Maloney early last season after he was waived by the Blackhawks for lack of production.

Tikhonov had originally joined Chicago to help smooth rookie Artemi Panarin’s transition to the NHL from the KHL.

The KHL and NHL veteran never really got things going during his time in the desert either, despite getting a few chances from head coach Dave Tippett to move up the lineup and slot into a stronger offensive line.

His first eight games after returning to the desert appeared to serve as an audition for Tippett and Maloney.

Tikhonov skated over 15 minutes per night on average during those first eight contests. It’s very telling of his play that he finished his season with the Coyotes averaging just 11:56 of time on ice.

If there was a bigger enigma on the Arizona Coyotes roster in 2015-16, it’d be hard for me to pinpoint the player.

In 39 games with the franchise, Viktor Tikhonov netted just 3 goals and 3 assists. He couldn’t find any kind of offensive groove, managed just 30 shots on net, and spent a few nights in the press box because of it.

Viktor’s play wasn’t appalling to the eye or particularly egregious – at least not in the Antoine Vermette blindly passing to the opponent for another turnover leading into a breakaway kind of appalling  – it was just mostly ineffective. Not much happened with Tikhonov on the ice, and it felt like the time he did spend out there would’ve been better served being chewed up by a younger prospect with more potential.

Tikhonov made just over $1M for last season and is now an unrestricted free agent.

As he wasn’t a player driving possession, and he wasn’t producing, it seems like a no brainer that John Chayka and the Arizona Coyotes will let the former first rounder walk away yet again.

Next: 7 Options For The Coyotes With The 20th Overall Pick

I would honestly be surprised if he lands in the NHL at all for a full season.

The potential for a great story was there with his return last December, but it doesn’t seem like life in the NHL is meant to be for #9.