During NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman's time at the head of the NHL, things have been quite rocky as he has been responsible for 3 separate lockouts.
While some praise Bettman as a smart business man, he has made countless errors as the commissioner leading the NHL to having by far the most lockouts across the 4 major sports league in the last 30 years.
The current CBA agreement ends in 2026 which players have noticed and due to that it seems more players are taking most of their salary in signing bonuses. Paying a player this way protects them from not losing too much money if they are injured or if a lockout takes place.
Setting up player's contracts this way also helps the teams as they have more available cap during the season, so it ends up being a win-win situation.