Vezina Trophy winner Bernie Parent was backbone of the Flyers

For many hockey fans, their enduring image of Bernie Parent is cutting through the fog at the humid Auditorium in Buffalo, celebrating Philadelphia’s second straight Stanley Cup and his consecutive Conn Smythe Trophy as the Flyers and NHL playoff MVP. 

The Broad Street Bullies were tough, but they also needed a money goaltender and Parent provided that 11 years, after starting with the Boston Bruins and later, a couple of seasons as a Toronto Maple Leaf. 

On Sunday, the Flyers announced Parent’s passing at age 80, in the 50th anniversary year of their last Cup. The 5-foot-10 Parent, an original Flyer, played a huge role in making them the first post-1967 expansion team to win a championship in 1974, beating the New York Rangers and then the Bruins, a momentous changing of the guard atop