Bernie Parent
Two-time Stanley Cup champion and Vezina Trophy winner.
Bernard Marcel Parent (April 3, 1945 – September 21, 2025) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. Over 13 NHL seasons, he played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, and Toronto Maple Leafs from 1965 to 1979, plus one season in the WHA with the Philadelphia Blazers in 1972–73. He is considered one of the greatest goaltenders ever.
Parent’s peak came in 1973–74 and 1974–75, often called the finest consecutive seasons by a goaltender. The Flyers won the Stanley Cup both years, and Parent won the Vezina Trophy and Conn Smythe Trophy each season. Across those two years, he recorded 30 shutouts in regular-season and playoff games combined. He entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984. In 1998, *The Hockey News* ranked him 63rd on its list of the Top 100 NHL Players of All-Time. More than three decades after retiring, he remained a beloved figure in Philadelphia. In 2017, he was named one of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players.
Parent was born in east Montreal on April 3, 1945, the youngest of seven siblings. He grew up in Rosemont, a Montreal district. As a boy, his hero was Montreal Canadiens goalie Jacques Plante, whose sister lived in Parent’s neighborhood. Parent often watched for Plante’s visits. Plante later became his teammate and mentor in 1971 with the Toronto Maple Leafs, when Plante was 43.
Parent played junior hockey for the Niagara Falls Flyers in the OHA. He twice won the Dave Pinkney Trophy for lowest goals-against average. He ended his junior career in 1965 with an OHA championship and a Memorial Cup title.
He started his NHL career with the Boston Bruins in 1965–66, appearing in 39 games. The next season he split time between Boston and their farm club in Oklahoma. Left unprotected in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft, the Philadelphia Flyers selected him on June 6, 1967. He and Doug Favell shared goaltending duties in the Flyers’ first season. Parent posted a 2.48 GAA with four shutouts, and the Flyers finished first in the West Division. Over the next two seasons, with Favell inconsistent or injured, Parent became the top goalie, playing 58 and 62 games with save percentages of .925 and .921, though the Flyers’ weak defense hurt his GAA and win totals.
Quick Facts
- Halloffame
- 1984
- Birth Date
- 1945-04-03
- Birth Place
- Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Death Date
- 2025-09-21
- Death Place
- Avalon, New Jersey, U.S.
- Height Ft
- 5
- Height In
- 10
- Weight Lb
- 170
- Position
- Goaltender
- Catches
- Left
- Played For
- Boston Bruins / Philadelphia Flyers / Toronto Maple Leafs / Philadelphia Blazers
- Career Start
- 1965
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Parent grew up in Rosemont, Quebec, as the youngest of seven siblings. His childhood hero was Montreal Canadiens goalie Jacques Plante, whose sister lived in Parent's neighbourhood; Plante later became his teammate and mentor with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1971. Parent played junior hockey for the Niagara Falls Flyers, winning the Dave Pinkney Trophy twice and the Memorial Cup in 1965. He began his NHL career with the Boston Bruins in 1965–66, then was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft. After a trade to Toronto in 1971, he played under Plante's tutelage, becoming more consistent and technically proficient. In 1972, he signed with the WHA's Philadelphia Blazers, but returned to the Flyers in 1973.
Reader's Guide
Parent's legacy is defined by his two consecutive Stanley Cup championships with the Flyers in 1973–74 and 1974–75, during which he won both the Vezina Trophy and Conn Smythe Trophy each season. In that two-year run, he posted 30 shutouts in regular and post-season play combined. His 1973–74 season included a league-leading 1.89 GAA, .932 save percentage, and 12 shutouts. He shared the Vezina Trophy with Tony Esposito that year. Parent's playoff performances included shutouts in the deciding sixth game of both finals: a 1–0 win over the Boston Bruins in 1974 and a 2–0 win over the Buffalo Sabres in 1975. He is considered the last great stand-up goaltender, as the butterfly style later became dominant. A neck injury in 1975–86 limited his play, and a career-ending eye injury occurred on February 17, 1979, when an errant stick entered the right eye hole of his mask, causing permanent vision damage. He retired at age 34. Parent was rated number 63 on The Hockey News' list of The Top 100 NHL Players of All-Time in 1998 and was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in 2017.
Did You Know?
- Parent was the first NHL player to jump to the newly formed World Hockey Association in 1972.
- He recorded 30 shutouts in regular and post-season play combined during his two Stanley Cup-winning seasons.
- He suffered a career-ending eye injury on February 17, 1979, when a stick entered the right eye hole of his mask.
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