Bernie Parent

[5] As a Québécois, Parent's use of English was a never-ending source of locker room and bus trip humour, especially when he was excited.

Looking for help up front to improve the club's offence, Philadelphia dealt Parent and a second-round pick in the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft (Rick Kehoe) to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Bruce Gamble and a first-round selection (Pierre Plante) in the same draft in a three-way transaction that also involved Boston on January 31, 1971.

The Flyers acquired Rick MacLeish and Danny Schock from the Bruins who received Mike Walton from the Maple Leafs.

Toronto traded Parent's NHL rights back to the Flyers for Favell and a first-round pick in that summer's (1973) amateur draft.

In the 6th and deciding game of the finals, Parent stopped a savage slapshot blast from Ken Hodge with a classic kick save move with less than 3 minutes to play on what turned out to be the Bruins' 30th and last shot.

The spectacular save preserved the shutout and the championship-deciding win and became an often used highlight during advertising for NBC's coverage of the NHL the next season.

In both championship playoff runs, Parent shut out the opposition in the deciding sixth game of the Stanley Cup Finals defeating the Boston Bruins 1–0 in 1974 and the Buffalo Sabres 2–0 in 1975.

As the Flyers prepared a run at the championship for a third consecutive year, Parent was sidelined by a pre-season neck injury requiring surgery and he appeared in only 11 games in 1975–76.

Doctors removed a disk and a section of bone hoping to alleviate the symptoms but Parent suffered from continued pain in his neck throughout the rest of his career.

[9] He returned to the lineup late in the season but he was inconsistent and could not regain the starting job from netminder Wayne Stephenson.

Without Parent's Conn Smythe level performance that year, the Flyers fell in the Stanley Cup finals in four straight games to the Montreal Canadiens.

Snipers like Mike Bossy, Guy Lafleur and Marcel Dionne were becoming major stars and dominating play.

During the 1977–1978 season, he adopted the more confident, challenging style characteristic of his play during the Championship years posting a 2.22 GAA, a 0.912 save percentage and a league-leading 7 shutouts in 49 games.

[10] An errant stick entered the right eye hole of his mask, causing permanent damage to his vision.

He spent several years in the Flyers organization as goaltending coach, mentoring future Vezina-winning goalies Ron Hextall and the late Pelle Lindbergh, the latter of whom idolized Parent as a youngster in his native Sweden.

[11] In a 2007 interview with Philadelphia magazine, Parent sheepishly admitted he was watching the clock tick off the final seconds of the deciding game six against Boston in the 1974 Stanley Cup Finals and that he was not paying attention to play when Bobby Orr sent a desperation length of the ice shot toward the Flyers' goaltender.

[citation needed] Recently, Parent made an appearance on The Philly Sports Convo podcast, hosted by Philadelphia broadcaster Jason Lee.

The episode, which aired on December 6, 2023, showcased Bernie's enduring passion for the game and his unique perspective on the world of sports.

As he occasionally graces podcasts and shows, Bernie Parent remains a beloved figure, connecting with audiences through his charismatic presence and wealth of hockey wisdom.

Bernie Parent's return to the ice for the 2012 Winter Classic Alumni Game.
The #1 Flyers sweater worn by Bernie Parent in his last game on February 17, 1979
Parent in 2012
Parent and Bobby Clarke statue in South Philadelphia