On November 21, the Philadelphia Flyers will hold a celebration of life for the iconic Bernie Parent at Xfinity Mobile Arena. The tribute starts at 6 p.m. EST. and will be broadcasted on NBCSP+ and streaming on https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/.
Bernie, who passed away at age on September 21 at age 80, left an indelible legacy on and off the ice. He made a massive impact both as a Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender and a beloved beacon of the community he called home for over half a century.
PhiladelphiaFlyers.com pays tribute to Bernie Parent the goaltender and the man. In this article, we look at 30 things that defined his hockey impact in Philadelphia.
1. Number 1 in your program and fans hearts. Parent, of course, wore uniform number 1 throughout his second playing tenure with the Flyers (1973-74 to 1978-79). The number was the first to be retired by the organization. He was also the first long-term Flyer to earn a Hockey Hall of Fame induction.
2. Bernie won the Vezina Trophy (NHL's top goaltender) and the Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP) in both 1973-74 and 1974-75. The Flyers won the Stanley Cup in both seasons.
3. As the Flyers goaltending coach from 1982-83 to 1993-94, Parent held the rare distinction of coaching three different Flyers goaltenders in succession to Vezina Trophy finalist honors. First came Pelle Lindbergh, who won the Vezina in 1984-85. Next came Bob Froese, who was a Vezina finalist in 1985-86. Froese was the runner-up to the New York Rangers' John Vanbiesbrouck. Finally, in 1986-87, Flyers rookie goaltender Ron Hextall captured the Vezina. Hextall also won the Conn Smythe Trophy that year.
4. Bernie notched four shutouts apiece in both the Flyers inaugural 1967-68 season and his final season in 1978-79. An on-ice eye injury ended his career on February 17, 1979.
5. Bernie Parent represented the Flyers in the NHL All-Star Game in five different seasons over his two stints: 1968-69, 1969-70, 1973-74, 1974-75 and 1976-77.
6. Parent recorded six playoff shutouts as a Flyer. This included the Stanley Cup clinching games of 1974 against Boston and 1975 against Buffalo. Combining regular season and playoff games, Parent notched 56 shutouts over the course of his Flyers career.
7. Parent won seven or more playoff games in three different seasons with the Flyers. In addition to the team's two Cup-winning years, Bernie won exactly seven games in his final playoff run in 1978. That year, the Flyers reached the Stanley Cup semifinals. In fact, the Flyers reached either the semifinals or Stanley Cup Final in every full season of his second tenure. When Parent dealt with injuries in 1976 and 1977, backup Wayne Stephenson filled in capably.
8. Over his two tenures as a Flyer, Parent finished in the top five of the league's end-of-season All-Star vote a remarkable eight times. He won First-Team honors in his two Vezina seasons and placed in the voting top four two additional times (1968-69 and 1969-70).
9. Parent won nine games for Philly in 1970-71 before the Flyers made a three-team trade with the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs on January 31, 1971. Most notably, the trade brought gifted young forward Rick MacLeish to the Flyers from Boston. Philly obtained veteran goalie Bruce Gamble from Toronto in the same deal, as well as a 1971 first-round draft pick (Pierre Plante).
10. Bernie recorded 10 shutouts (all in the regular season) during his first tenure as a Flyer: The first came on Dec. 16, 1967, in a 1-0 road win over the St. Louis Blues. The 10th was on December 4, 1970 in a 4-0 road win over the California Seals. Three of the 10 shutouts came at the expense of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
11. Parent's 11th Flyers career shutout -- and the first of his second tenure -- came against the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 11, 1973. The 2-0 Flyers home win was special in several regards. It was Parent's official return game as a Flyer. It came at the expense of his former team. Last but not least, Doug Favell was in goal for Toronto. Bernie and "Dougie" were close friends and teammates in junior hockey (Niagara Falls Flyers), the Bruins' farm system and with the Flyers before being traded for one another.
12. Speaking of shutouts, Bernie recorded a dozen regular season shutouts apiece in both the 1973-74 and 1974-75 season.
13. Between 1973-74 and 1977-78, Parent appeared in 133 regular season games (all starts) at the Spectrum. His record was an astounding 103 wins and 17 losses. In this era, regulation ties counted for one standings point apiece. Parent and the Flyers played 13 home ties. He had a 1.84 cumulative goals against average ,923 save percentage and 27 shutouts. Across the board, Parent led all NHL goalies in every major category. The overall runner-up was fellow Hockey Hall of Fame goalie Tony Esposito (91-51-33 home record, .914 save percentage, 18 shutouts, 2.60 GAA).
14. During the Flyers first Stanley Cup season, Parent recorded a combined 14 regular season/playoff shutouts. He notched a 4-0 shutout against the New York Rangers in Game One of the 1974 Cup semis plus his legendary 1-0 win (30 saves) in Game Six of the Final against Boston.
15. The Flyers played 17 games in the 1975 playoffs en route to their second consecutive Cup. Bernie started 15 games, posting a 10-5 record, 1.89 goals against average, .922 save percentage, and four shutouts. Wayne Stephenson started Game One and Game Two against the Islanders because Parent suffered a deep knee bruise at practice.
16. Combining his regular season and playoff shutouts in 1974-75, Parent recorded a career-best 16 that year. Fellow Hall of Fame netminder George Hainsworth holds the all-time single record in 1928-29.
17. Nicknamed "Bennie" rather than Bernie by many of his teammates, Parent started all 17 playoff games the Flyers played in 1973-74. His stats: 12-5 record, 2.02 goals against average, .933 save percentage, two shutouts.
18. Parent formed a lifelong friendship with Flyers Hall of Fame defenseman Joe Watson in 1963 when both were prospects in the Boston Bruins system. Bernie was 18 years old at the time. Watson was 20. The friendship spanned 62 years until Bernie's passing. The duo spent most of their respective careers in Boston and Philadelphia as teammates.
19. A pinched nerve in Bernie's neck forced him to undergo surgery. He missed most of the 1975-76 season. That year, he appeared in a combined 19 games (11 regular season, 8 playoff).
20. On April 20, 1974, Parent blanked the New York Rangers(4-0) in Game One of the Stanley Cup Semifinal. Two goals by Rick MacLeish and one apiece from Ross Lonsberry led the way offensively. Bernie made 19 saves to take Second Star honors. Eddie Giacomin stopped 19 of 23 shots from Philly.
21. Bernie's first shutout at the Spectrum took place on Dec. 21, 1967. The Flyers defeated the visiting Minnesota North Stars by a 6-0 score.
22. Parent was not one to handle the puck very often. However, he recorded 11 career assists as a Flyer. His first came on Dec. 3, 1967, in a 4-2 home win over the St. Louis Blues. The goaltender was credited with the lone assist on a third period goal by Ed Hoekstra.
23. Although he was placid and good humored off the ice, Parent was a competitor once the game started. He had 100 career penalty minutes, including 23 in the inaugural 1967-68 season. That year, he exchanged slashes and fought Minnesota's Dave Balon in a 4-0 defeat on January 25, 1968.
24. Parent made 43 saves in the Flyers' 4-1 win over Toronto at Maple Leafs Gardens on February 13, 1974. The feisty game featured a third period brawl. At one point, Parent made 39 consecutive saves, including two breakaway stops before a Borje Salming power play goal broke the shutout bid.
25. The Flyers were outplayed early by the host St. Louis Blues on February 27, 1977. The Blues outshot Philly in the first period, 11-6, and had each of the game's first two power play. Thanks to Parent, the Flyers limited the early damage. Philadelphia went on to win, 5-1, after a three-goal explosion in the second in the second period. Parent finished with 25 saves. After the game, St. Louis' Red Berenson said, "What can I say? [The Flyers] have the best goalie in the world."
26. On Boxing Day (December 26), 1977, Parent backstopped the Flyers to a 6-1 win over Czechoslovakian powerhouse HC Pardubice at the Spectrum.
27. Bernie's final career win -- and shutout -- came on January 7, 1979. Two goals by Tom "T.J." Gorence and a Reggie Leach power play tally paced the Flyers in a 3-0 home win over the LA Kings. Nine nights later, the Atlanta Flames fired 27 shots on net as Parent and the Flyers sustained a 5-0 setback.
28. Amid a grueling western road trip, the Flyers faced the Los Angeles Kings on December 3, 1969. Parent spotted LA an early power play goal by Eddie Joyal (later a Flyer). Thereafter, he made 27 consecutive saves in what turned into a 7-1 blowout win. Jim Johnson registered a hat trick, while Simon Nolet scored twice for Philly.
29. After a couple of injury-plagued seasons, Parent had a big bounceback year in 1977-78: 29 wins, 2.22 goals against average, .912 save percentage and seven shutouts. It was his best overall season since the 1974-75 campaign.
30. Bernie will forever be associated with number 1. However, he sported uniform number 30 throughout his first stint with the Flyers. Doug Favell wore number 1 in those years.
