SUNRISE — The Florida Panthers signed goaltender Cooper Black to a two-year, two-way contract extension through the 2027-28 season, President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Zito announced.
Black, 24, earned the deal after a breakout campaign with the Charlotte Checkers, Florida’s American Hockey League affiliate. The 6-foot-8, 223-pound netminder appeared in 42 regular season games in 2025-26, posting a 25-13-4 record with a 2.47 goals against average, .903 save percentage and one shutout.
The Alpena, Mich., native has compiled 60 career AHL games with Charlotte over the past three seasons, logging a 36-18-5 record, 2.37 goals against average, .903 save percentage and four shutouts. He also appeared in seven contests in 2024-25 with the Savannah Ghost Pirates, Florida’s ECHL affiliate, recording a 4-3-0 record.
Black went undrafted but built a résumé that made him hard to ignore. He played two seasons at Dartmouth College from 2022-23 to 2023-24, registering a .904 save percentage and five shutouts across 60 NCAA appearances. His sophomore campaign — a 13-8-8 record, .910 save percentage, 2.58 goals against average and two shutouts — earned him a finalist nod for the Ken Dryden ECAC Goaltender of the Year Award. He was named to the ECAC All-Rookie Team in 2022-23 after recording three shutouts as a freshman.
Before college, Black led the Nanaimo Clippers of the BCHL to a Coastal Conference championship in 2021-22, posting a league-leading .924 save percentage with a 24-7-1 record, 2.62 goals against average and two shutouts.
The two-way structure of the deal means Black can shuttle between the Panthers and Charlotte as the organization develops its goaltending depth heading into the 2026-27 season.