Flyers legend Bernie Parent passes away at age of 80

The Philadelphia Flyers have their fair share of franchise legends. But none were more universally beloved than Bernie Parent.

On Sunday, the Flyers announced that Parent had passed away at the age of 80 — 51 years after he backstopped the Broad Street Bullies to their first of two consecutive Stanley Cup titles.

“Bernie is a Foundational Titan of the Philadelphia Flyers and a true icon of the city of Philadelphia,” Comcast Spectacor chairman and CEO Dan Hilferty said in a statement on Sunday afternoon. “I will greatly miss him.”

Parent had two separate stints with the Flyers, serving as one of the team’s two goalies (along with Doug Favell) in the expansion club’s first season in 1967-68. But it was Parent’s second run with the team that is remembered most. After the Flyers traded Favell and a first round pick to Toronto to reacquire Parent’s rights — he had spent one season playing for the Philadelphia Blazers of the WHA — Parent emerged as the NHL’s best netminder and won two consecutive Vezina Trophies to prove it.

In fact, Parent’s 1973-74 season has a strong case to be remembered as the best goaltending season of all-time. In 73 games, Parent shouldered the 28th highest minutes workload in recorded NHL history and posted a league-high 0.932 save percentage with 12 shutouts. To put Parent’s season into context, the metric Goals Saved Above Average measures how many more goals a netminder prevented as opposed to a goalie with a league average save percentage. In 1973-74, Parent stopped 72.7 extra goals — the highest number ever recorded in a single season by an NHL netminder.

But Parent’s heroics were not limited to the regular season. In 17 playoff games, Parent was even better, posting a 0.933 save percentage and providing the backbone for the first Flyers championship — and the first by an expansion team. Fittingly, Parent won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

And then in 1974-75, he did it all over again. A second straight Vezina, another crushing workload (68 games), and another stellar save percentage (0.918 and 46.6 Goals Saved Above Average). And once again, Parent rose to the occasion in the postseason, posting a 0.924 save percentage with four shutouts in 15 games to lead the Flyers to their second straight Stanley Cup and earn himself a second consecutive Conn Smythe.

“The two years that we won the Stanley Cup, he was the only member of that team that we could not have been without if we were going to win,” Bob Clarke noted in a statement on Sunday. “He was the best goalie in hockey for those two years.”

Parent’s career was cut short by injuries, specifically an eye injury suffered in 1979. But his stellar 13-year career was more than deserving of induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame, which he officially entered in 1984.

In retirement, Parent never left the Flyers family. He functioned as a mentor to goaltender Pelle Lindbergh prior to his passing. He served as ambassador for Ed Snider Youth Hockey & Education, working with young hockey players to foster their love of the game. He even made a brief return to the net at age 66 in the 2012 Winter Classic Alumni Game played at Citizens Bank Park, playing for five minutes and making five saves. Parent also was a staple at Flyers events and Flyers games, shaking hands and swapping stories with fans and media alike whenever approached.

“His life was more than just hockey,” Clarke added. “He was a fisherman and a hunter but just a really, really good person.”

“Anyone who had the pleasure of being around Bernie always walked away with a smile,” the Philadelphia Flyers noted in a statement. “He will be dearly missed. We offer our condolences to his beloved wife, Gini, and the entire Parent family.”

Along with Bob Clarke, Parent was the face of the Broad Street Bullies, still one of the most popular teams in Philadelphia sports history. It was Parent’s face, appropriately, that adorned Time Magazine in February of 1975 for a feature story on hockey and the NHL.

And given the Bullies’ chosen style of physicality and intimidation, they needed a stout netminder to help them withstand all of the extra power plays and quality chances were the logical result of such a style. Parent was more than merely stout — he was dominant, and stands as both the greatest goaltender in franchise history, and one of the best netminders of all-time. His jersey number 1 was retired by the team, only the second to be retired after defenseman Barry Ashbee.

Parent was an integral part of the Philadelphia Flyers family, and will remain a franchise legend forever in the minds of Philadelphia fans everywhere.

Per the Flyers, Parent’s family has kindly requested donations in honor of Parent be made to Ed Snider Youth Hockey & Education.