Hall of Famer Bernie Parent, a Flyers great, dies at age 80 - ESPN

PHILADELPHIA — Bernie Parent, the Hall of Famer considered one of the great goalies of all time who anchored the net for the Flyers' only two Stanley Cup championships during their Broad Street Bullies heyday, has died. He was 80.

The Flyers made the announcement Sunday but provided no immediate details. Parent died overnight in his sleep, said Joe Watson, a star defenseman on the Flyers' Stanley Cup teams.

Watson said by phone that he saw Parent and other former Flyers players at a function on Friday night in Delaware.

«Bernie was in such pain, he could hardly walk,» Watson said, citing Parent's bad back. «We had a great time, but I felt bad because he was in such terrible pain. To see this happen, it's very sad.»

Parent's steel-eyed stare through his old-school hockey mask landed him on the cover of Time magazine in 1975 when the Flyers reigned as one of the marquee teams in sports. He won Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe and Vezina trophies in back-to-back seasons when the Flyers won the title in 1974 and 1975, the first NHL expansion team to win the championship.

«The legend of Bernie Parent reached far beyond the ice and his accolades,» the Flyers said in a statement. «Bernie had a deep love for Philadelphia and fans of the Flyers. He was passionate about his role as an ambassador for Ed Snider Youth Hockey & Education and inspired an entire generation of hockey fans. He dedicated his time, energy and enthusiasm to not only grow the game, but also to spread joy to anyone he encountered.»

After he made his NHL debut with Boston in 1965, Parent was left unprotected by the Bruins in the 1967 expansion draft and was selected by the Flyers. After 3½ seasons, he was traded to Toronto but ended up back in Philadelphia ahead of the