Bernie Parent, whose goaltending keyed the Philadelphia Flyers’ back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in the mid-1970s and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, died Sunday. He was 80.
On a team nicknamed the “Broad Street Bullies,” Parent’s superb play was the key to the only two championships in Flyers history.
“When Parent is out there, we know we can win games we have no business winning,” Fred Shero, his coach, said in summarizing the faith the Flyers had in their goaltender.
Parent earned that level of trust with two of the greatest seasons ever by an NHL goaltender. From 1973-75 he won 91 games, 24 by shutout, and earned the Vezina Trophy each time. The Flyers became the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup in 1974 and repeated in 1975, with Parent winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP each time.
But his career ended abruptly on Feb. 17, 1979, when an errant stick entered the right eyehole of his mask during a game against the New York Rangers. Parent was hospitalized for two weeks but sustained permanent damage to his vision and retired at age 34.
The Flyers retired his No. 1 on Oct. 11, 1979. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984 and named to the 100 Greatest NHL Players in 2017.
The end of Parent’s career signaled the beginning of a down period in his life. But he rebounded and worked for Philadelphia as a goaltending coach during the 1980s and early 1990s. After that, he served as an ambassador for the Flyers, one whose legacy, charm and sense of humor enabled him to remain as one of the most popular athletes Philadelphia has ever known.