Parent earned trust with two of the greatest seasons ever by an NHL goaltender. From 1973-75 he won 91 games, 24 by shutout, and earned the Vezina Trophy each time. The Flyers became the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup in 1974 and repeated in 1975, with Parent winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP each time.
But his career ended abruptly on Feb. 17, 1979, when an errant stick entered the right eyehole of his mask during a game against the New York Rangers. Parent was hospitalized for two weeks but sustained permanent damage to his vision and retired at age 34.
The Flyers retired his No. 1 on Oct. 11, 1979. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984 and named to the 100 Greatest NHL Players in 2017.
“When Parent is out there, we know we can win games we have no business winning,” Fred Shero, his coach, said in summarizing the faith the Flyers had in their goaltender.
The end of Parent’s career signaled the beginning of a down period in his life. But he rebounded and worked for Philadelphia as a goaltending coach during the 1980s and early 1990s. After that, he served as an ambassador for the Flyers, one whose legacy, charm and sense of humor enabled him to remain as one of the most popular athletes Philadelphia has ever known.
Parent was born April 3, 1945, in east Montreal; he grew up idolizing Canadiens goaltender Jacques Plante. As a teenager, he helped the Niagara Falls Flyers win the Memorial Cup in 1965.
Parent signed with the Boston Bruins and turned pro that fall. However, he was left unprotected in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft and was selected by Philadelphia. He was among the NHL’s best young goalies in his early years, but he never had a winning record while playing for the offensively challenged Flyers. With management desperate for more offense, Parent was sent to the Toronto Maple Leafs as part of a three-way trade midway through the 1970-71 season.
Though devastated at the time, Parent teamed with Plante, who was near the end of a Hall of Fame career, to form a formidable duo.
“He’s probably got more natural ability than any goaltender in this league,” Plante said.
Parent signed with the Miami Screaming Eagles of the new World Hockey Association in 1972, but that franchise never took the ice and he wound up with the Philadelphia Blazers instead. However, the Blazers fared poorly and he left the team in 1973 during a contract dispute. He did not want to return to Toronto, which still held his NHL rights, so he was traded Parent back to the Flyers.
“I never wanted to leave in the first place,” Parent said of Philadelphia after signing a multiyear contract with the Flyers. “Now that I’m back, I couldn’t be happier.”
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