Bernie Parent

Bernie Parent, the Philadelphia Flyers icon whose brilliance in goal delivered the franchise's only two Stanley Cup championships, died September 21, 2025. He was 80. The Flyers announced his death; no cause was disclosed. A former teammate told the Associated Press that Parent died in his sleep.

Born April 3, 1945, in Montreal, Parent debuted with the Boston Bruins in 1965 and joined the expansion Flyers in 1967. He also played for the Toronto Maple Leafs and spent one season in the WHA with the Philadelphia Blazers.

Parent's peak came on his return to Philadelphia in 1973 after his brief stint in the WGA. Over the next two seasons, he authored one of hockey's greatest runs, leading the Flyers-nicknamed the "Broad Street Bullies"-to back-to-back titles in 1974 and 1975. He earned the Vezina Trophy and the Conn Smythe Trophy in both years, posting Cup-clinching shutouts against Boston in 1974 and Buffalo in 1975.

His 1973–'74 regular season featured an NHL-record 47 regulation victories at the time, part of 91 wins across those two seasons. Parent's dominance built a civic mythology in Philadelphia, captured on bumper stickers that read, "Only the Lord Saves More Than Bernie Parent."

On February 17, 1979, when he was just 34, Parent's NHL career came to an end when he suffered an eye injury during a game against the New York Rangers. The Flyers retired his No. 1 that October, and he entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984. In 2017, the NHL named him among its 100 Greatest Players.

Parent finished his NHL career with 271 wins, 54 shutouts, a 2.55 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage across 608 regular-season games.

Admired for his warmth as much as his excellence, Parent remained a beloved team ambassador. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman hailed him as "a warm, gregarious bear of a man" whose mask was "the last sight you wanted to see" as a shooter, and Flyers governor Daniel J. Hilferty remembered his "pure love of life."

In retirement, Parent engaged deeply with the Philadelphia community, including support for Ed Snider Youth Hockey & Education. He was a fixture at team events and remained generous with fans and young players.

By Legacy News Staff

(Image: Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images)