Bernie Parent, Flyers legend and Hall of Fame goaltender, dies at 80

Bernie Parent, a Hockey Hall of Famer and one of the top NHL goaltenders of all-time, has died, according to an announcement from the Philadelphia Flyers. He was 80.

Parent led the Flyers to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975 as a member of the “Broad Street Bullies.” He also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the league’s playoff MVP and Vezina Trophy as the sport’s top goaltender in both of those Stanley Cup-winning seasons.

Parent made his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins in 1965 but wasn’t protected in the 1967 expansion draft and ended up being selected by the Flyers. The Canadian netminder was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1970 but ultimately returned to the Flyers via another trade in 1973.

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In his first season back with the Flyers, he won an NHL-best 47 games in 1973-74. Parent also led the league in wins (44) during the 1974-75 season as Philadelphia won its second consecutive Stanley Cup.

In 1979, Parent suffered a career-ending eye injury against on Feb. 17 against the New York Rangers and ultimately elected to announce his retirement from the sport at the age of 34. Parent lost his sight for two weeks following the incident but eventually regained his eye sight.

Parent finished his NHL career with a 271-198-119 record, a 2.55 goals-against-average, a .915 save percentage and 54 shutouts in 13 seasons, 10 of which came with the Flyers. 

In 1984, Parent became the first Flyers player to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He also had his No. 1 retired by the franchise. Parent still holds the record for the most regulation wins (47) in a single season for his performance during the 1973-74 campaign.