Flyers Honor Bernie Parent: Emotional Tribute to the Hockey Icon

In a moving ceremony, the Flyers paid tribute to the legend Bernie Parent, an ice hockey icon. The franchise celebrated the memory of the iconic goalkeeper, who recently passed away at the age of 80, with a special event that touched the fans.

A Tribute to the Legend

The Flyers, in each victory this season, honor their stars by giving them a replica of Bernie Parent’s goalie mask. This white mask, with the team logo on the sides, evokes the image that Parent projected in the 1970s, when the figure of the goalie transcended the sports realm of Philadelphia and became the face of the “Broad Street Bullies”. On Saturday, before the game against the New Jersey Devils, the mask was displayed above one of the goals, a final tribute to Parent, a Hall of Fame member.

“Always our number 1,” said Lou Nolan, the Flyers’ announcer since 1972.

Lou Nolan

The event highlighted Parent’s iconic number 1, retired and hung high in the stadium, alongside the banners of the Stanley Cup championships, the only ones in the franchise’s history. Parent was key for the Flyers in the golden age of the “Bullies”, under the direction of Ed Snider. He won the Stanley Cup, the Conn Smythe Trophy and the Vezina Trophy in consecutive seasons, leading the Flyers to win the championship in 1974 and 1975, becoming the first NHL expansion team to achieve it. Before the game, the image of a smiling Parent with his Stanley Cup rings dominated the stadium screen, next to the bronze statue of Snider, the founder of the Flyers, who died in 2016.

“We have two Stanley Cups thanks to Bernie,” declared Hall of Famer Bobby Clarke at an event in memory of Parent.

Bobby Clarke

The Flyers’ fans rallied over the weekend to remember Parent, with a celebration that included a religious service and a tribute at Saturday’s game. Fans wore jerseys with Parent’s number 1, and celebrated every memorable moment of his golden era. The most acclaimed moments were those of the Stanley Cup championship. The Flyers defeated the Boston Bruins in 1974 and the Buffalo Sabres in 1975. Parent managed to keep his goal scoreless in the decisive matches of both seasons. During the flight back from Buffalo, the Flyers placed the Stanley Cup in the middle of the aisle, admiring it for almost 90 minutes.

“We were able to sit down, look at the Stanley Cup and savor it,” Parent recalled in 2010. “It was a special moment.”

Bernie Parent

With Parent as an unwavering guardian in the goal, the phrase “Only the Lord saves more than Bernie Parent” became a popular motto in Philadelphia. Parent was also an ambassador for the Ed Snider Youth Hockey and Education program, created in 2005 for underprivileged youth in Philadelphia. The program announced that it will honor Parent’s legacy with the Bernie Parent Goaltending Development Program, designed to prepare young people for success on and off the ice. Flyers Charities donated $50,000, an amount that was matched by Snider’s children. Parent, along with team captain Bobby Clarke and Dave “The Hammer” Schultz, became Flyers stars in an era when the team was known for its aggressive playing style, earning them the nickname “Bullies”. They embraced their nickname as the roughest team in the NHL, winning the hearts of Flyers fans. More than 2 million people crowded the streets of Philadelphia in each of their championship parades. Most of the surviving members of the Stanley Cup teams attended Saturday’s game, and Clarke, visibly emotional, remembered other Flyers from the championship teams who have already passed away. Barry Ashbee, Ed Van Impe, Bill Flett, Ross Lonsberry, and Rick MacLeish.

“And now, may God bless Bernie, because he will join them,” Clarke said. “And the rest of us, until we go to join them, we will speak together forever.”

Bobby Clarke