When it comes to player rights, the NHL lags far behind most other professional sports leagues. Following the 2004-2005 lockout that wiped out the entirety of the season, the owners and players association worked out a collective bargaining agreement that vastly favored the owners. A player not being able to reach unrestricted free agency until age 27 is pretty absurd.
The only league with a comparable system is Major League Baseball in which the players lack control of their careers until their mid to late 20s. This system that drastically favors ownership has a variety of impacts which viciously feed into the cycle and create more problems for both sides.