Hockey Hall-of-Famer Bernie Parent passes away at 80

On Sunday, the Philadelphia Flyers revealed their finest ever goaltender, Bernie Parent, has died at the age of 80.

“Bernie Parent’s foreboding white mask was the last sight you wanted to see if you were an opposing shooter with a big game on the line” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. 

“The grinning, welcoming face that mask protected was the first you wanted to see when you walked into a room. At his unbeatable, unflappable best on the ice when the stakes were highest, Bernie was a warm, gregarious bear of a man off the ice who was venerated in Philadelphia and adored throughout the hockey world.”

An original Flyer from the NHL’s 1967 expansion, Parent split time with Doug Favell during the team’s early history before stints with the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he learned from his idol Jacques Plante, and the WHA Philadelphia Blazers.

Parent rejoined the Orange and Black ahead of the 1973-74 season and immediately embarked on one of the most dominant two-season stretches in league history. During each of the Flyers’ Stanley Cup winning seasons in 1974 and 1975, Parent won the Vezina and Conn Smythe trophies as the NHL’s top netminder and postseason MVP, respectively.

Parent led the NHL in wins, shutouts, and GAA during both seasons, additionally finishing atop the appearance and SV% charts in 1973-74. Neck issues shortened Parent’s time atop the NHL’s goalie totem pole before his career ended prematurely in February 1979 from a stick to the eye.

Though the injury ended Parent’s playing days, he memorably donned his signature mask for the final time with the Flyers’ Alumni ahead of the 2012 Winter Classic and was named first star of the exhibition

Parent’s beaming smile, always accompanied by his pair of Stanley Cup rings, remained ubiquitous in the Philadelphia area for the rest of his life. The Hall-of-Fame netminder was heavily involved in charitable causes through Ed Snider Youth Hockey & Education.