The ice hockey world mourns the loss of Bernie Parent, one of the largest goalkeeper legends in NHL history. The two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Philadelphia Flyers died on Sunday at the age of 80.
Architect of the “Broad Street Bullies” success
Parent was the backbone of the famous Flyers team in the mid-1970s, which went down in league history as a “Broad Street Bullies”. With outstanding performance, he led the franchise in 1974 and 1975 to its only Stanley Cup titles so far. In both years he was awarded the most valuable player of the Playoffs (Conn Smythe Trophy) – a feat that only a few goalkeepers succeeded. Between 1973 and 1975, parent ordered: 91 wins, 24 shutouts and twice the Vezina Trophy for the best goalie in the league.
Tragic career end
On February 17, 1979, his active career ended an abrupt end: a racket hit his right eye through a gap in the mask. Despite longer treatment, a permanent vision loss remained, which forced Parent with only 34 years to resign. Shortly afterwards, the Flyers honored him: his number 1 was hung under the hall roof on October 11, 1979.
Immortal in Philadelphia
In addition to his success on the ice, Parent made his open, humorous way of an icon in Philadelphia. After his career, he was a goalkeeper coach and later as an ambassador for the Flyers. In 1984 he was included in the Hockey Hall of Fame, in 2017 the NHL was one of the 100 greatest players of all time.
