Best NHL goalie from each franchise: Philadelphia Flyers – Bernie Parent
Philadelphia has always been a huge sports town but it was in the early 70s that their hockey team got a ton of recognition across the hockey world. Goalie Bernie Parent was a huge driving force in proving that the Flyers had what it took to keep up with the best of them.
Parent’s abilities to protect the net by stopping anything and everything coming his way helped the Flyers win back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 1973 and 1974. If you combine both seasons, he had 30 shutouts in both regular and postseason action. Besides winning championships and winning a ton of hockey games, he also helped bring a national audience to the Flyers’ way of hockey dominance.
Parent made the cover of Time magazine in 1975 and to this day, is one of only four hockey players to ever grace it. His popularity is still evident to this very day as fans of the Flyers at home games would often chant his name anytime one of their goalies had a clutch save or big stops in power play situations.
Not only is Parent a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame but also the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame. Parent continues to stay close to the organization as the Flyers officially made him their Ambassador of Hockey, much to the joy of fans everywhere who will forever appreciate everything he did with the franchise as one of their best goalies to ever wear their uniform.