The problem isn't Phil. He'd normally be worth a late first at the deadline to the right team in the right situation, maybe a bit more depending on how the market is for scoring wings and how in love someone is with the idea of Phil. Tampa went in hard on a guy like Savard. It happens.
The problem is that he's older, declining a bit, is not a universal plug-and-play style player, has a full NMC, and is owed bonus money that AZ doesn't want to pay. That means he needs to be shipped out before July, which further limits his market. This is normally a player that would be shuffled off for a pick ala Stepan sometime after FA has settled to fill a need. Can't do that if you want to avoid the bonus.
Retaining on Phil more or less defeats the purpose of the trade as well, so that's out of the window, unless someone blows you away. But why would they? There are lots of scoring wingers out there on the market in trade and in the summer that are easier to fit and digest 5v5. If all you are looking for is mercenary scoring, there's lots for hire.
It's bad timing. And every team in the league will know BA doesn't want to eat that bonus. Once it's paid, that's $4.25m right out of the cash budget for a team that has to be very careful about total cash expenditure, for a player that may or may not even be on the roster.
The 'inverse' of this situation is also true; the Coyotes should not be picky about a return at all if they can better allocate that money.
