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2. Bernie Parent

2. Bernie Parent

There were basically two careers for Bernie Parent and the Philadelphia Flyers.

The first would see Parent chosen from the Boston Bruins in the 1967 Expansion Draft where he would see increased playing time and improve his overall play.  He would be traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs where he would continue to improve and he was one of the players who would jump to the upstart World Hockey Association.  He wasn’t there long as he signed with the Miami Screaming Eagles, which relocated to Philadelphia as the Blazers before the season started.  Parent would have a good season there but he did not finish it and left after the first game of the WHA Playoffs due to a financial dispute.  Seeking a return to the National Hockey League (but not to Toronto) his rights were traded back to the Philadelphia Phillies and he would embark on the best run of his career.

The Philadelphia Phillies morphed into the “Broad Street Bullies” and Parent provided the netminding needed for a Stanley Cup run.  In both the 1973-74 and 1974-75 season the Flyers would win the Cup while Parent would be named a First Team All Star and the Vezina Trophy winner.  His spectacular performance in goal allowed Philadelphia to play their style of hockey and had he not got injured early in the 1975-76 season the odds were strong that the Flyers could have won three in a row.

Parent would play a few more seasons at a solid level but would be forced into early retirement when an errant hockey stick entered his mask’s eyehole and his vision was forever damaged.  He would enter the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984.  His #1 was retired by the team in 1979 and in 1988, he was also named as one of two men to the inaugural Flyers Hall of Fame.

The Bullet Points

  • Position: Goalie
  • Acquired: Claimed from the Boston Bruins in the Expansion Draft 6/6/67.
  • Departed:

    Traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs with Philadelphia’s 1971 2nd Round Pick (which would be Rick Kehoe) for Bruce Gamble, Mike Walton and Toronto’s 1971 1st Round Pick (which would be Pierre Plante) 2/1/71.

    Acquired (2): Traded from the Toronto Maple Leafs with Toronto’s 1973 2nd Round Pick (which would be Larry Goodenough) for Philadelphia’s 1973 1st Round Pick (which would be Bob Neely and Future Considerations (which would be Doug Favell) 3/15/73.

    Departed (2): Forced into Retirement due to an eye injury 2/17/79.
  • Games Played: 618
  • Notable Statistics: 276 Wins
    229 Losses
    107 Ties
    50 Shutouts
    2.60 Goals Against Average
    .916 Save Percentage
    118.3 Goalie Point Shares

    63 Playoff Games
    35 Wins
    28 Losses
    6 Shutouts
    2.39 Goals Against Average
    .916 Save Percentage
  • Major Accolades and Awards:

    Stanley Cup Champion (1974 & 1975)
    Vezina Trophy (1974 & 1975)
    First Team All-Star (1974 & 1975)
    All-Starr (1969, 1970, 1974, 1975 & 1977)
    Most Games Played by a Goalie (1974)
    Most Wins (1974 & 1975)
    Most Saves (1974)
    Highest Save Percentage (1974)
    Lowest Goals Against Average (1974 & 1975)
    Most Shutouts (1974, 1975 & 1978)
    Most Minutes Played (1974)
    Most Goalie Point Shares (1974 & 1975)
    Most Point Shares (1974)

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