Maybe he got more money per year for arranging the final years like that?
And while I agree in principle I think the chances of him being bought out as a 32 years old are extremely small. And let's even look at the scenario in that tweet. Doughty is bought out as a 32 year old. He recieves 29M out of the 44M. If he signs for a 5M per year for 4 years he would make even more money then he would have without the buyout. I can see a scenario where Doughty is not a 11M defenseman, but there's zero percent chance he's not worth 5M in 4 years.
There's also the poor mans buyout protection of claming a medical condition like a sudden allergic reaction to his equipment, sore back, vertigo or concussion symptoms. You can't buy out injured players.
I also think the the signing bonuses should be something the owners should tackle with the next CBA. Buyout proof contracts are a terrible. Big markets can hand them out like candy when they don't have to be financially responsible, but a terrible buyout proof contract could truly cripple a small market team to the point they can only be saved by an injury or an insurance scam. Imagine if Price continues to play like last season (.900) for the next 8 year and he was a goalie on a small market team.