Hall of Famer Parent, Flyers great, dies at age 80

PHILADELPHIA -- Bernie Parent, the Hall of Famer considered 1 of the large goalies of each clip who anchored the nett for the Philadelphia Flyers' lone 2 Stanley Cup championships during their Broad Street Bullies heyday, has died. He was 80.

The Flyers made the announcement Sunday but provided nary contiguous details. Parent died overnight successful his sleep, said Joe Watson, a prima defenseman connected the Flyers' Stanley Cup teams.

Parent's steel-eyed look done his old-school hockey disguise landed him connected the screen of Time mag successful 1975 erstwhile the Flyers reigned arsenic 1 of the marquee teams successful sports. He won Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe and Vezina trophies successful back-to-back seasons erstwhile the Flyers won the Stanley Cup successful 1974 and 1975, the archetypal NHL enlargement squad to triumph the championship.

After helium made his NHL debut with Boston successful 1965, Parent was near unprotected by the Bruins successful the 1967 enlargement draught and was selected by the Flyers. After 3½ seasons, helium was traded to Toronto but ended up backmost successful Philadelphia up of the 1973-74 season. He won a league-high 47 games that play and led the NHL successful wins again the adjacent play with 44.

He retired with the Flyers successful 1979 aft 271 wins -- 231 of them with the Flyers -- implicit a 13-year career. Parent was accidentally struck successful the close oculus with a instrumentality successful 1979 and was temporarily blinded. He ne'er played again.

The Flyers bushed the Bruins successful six games to triumph the Stanley Cup successful 1974 and bushed Buffalo successful 1975.

On the formation location from Buffalo, the Flyers plopped the Stanley Cup successful the mediate of the aisle. For adjacent to 90 minutes, the Flyers couldn't instrumentality their eyes disconnected the eventual prize.

"We were capable to conscionable beryllium back, look astatine the Stanley Cup and conscionable savor it," Parent said successful 2010. "It was conscionable a peculiar time."

With Parent the unstoppable unit successful net, "Only the Lord saves much than Bernie Parent," became a fashionable slogan successful Philadelphia that stuck with him done the decades. Parent, squad skipper Bobby Clarke and Dave "The Hammer" Schultz each became stars for the Flyers nether proprietor Ed Snider successful an epoch erstwhile the squad was known for its rugged benignant of play that earned it them the Bullies nickname. They embraced their moniker arsenic the astir despised squad successful the NHL and pounded their mode into the hearts of Philadelphia Flyers fans. More than 2 cardinal fans packed metropolis streets for each of their title parades.

Parent's No. 1 was retired by the Flyers and inactive hangs successful the rafters of their arena and successful 1984 helium became the archetypal Flyers subordinate inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Parent is inactive the Flyers' vocation person successful shutouts with 50.

Parent was 1 of the much beloved Flyers and remained connected with the squad implicit the years arsenic an ambassador.

The last vocation item came successful 2011 erstwhile Parent was successful the nett for an alumni crippled outdoors astatine Citizens Bank Park up of the NHL Classic. "Bernie! Bernie! Bernie!" echoed passim the parkland for the affable goalie, who played 5 minutes, 32 seconds and stopped each six shots. Each prevention made the "Bernie!" chants return.