‘He was a legend around here’ — Flyers to celebrate Bernie Parent’s legacy originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

VOORHEES, N.J. — Sean Couturier always enjoyed seeing Bernie Parent, a fellow French Canadian who loved spending time with the Flyers’ organization after his Hall of Fame playing career.

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Parent loved it so much that the Philadelphia area became his home.

“He was at pretty much every game I feel,” Couturier said Wednesday. “I’d see him before the game in the hallways, I got the chance to talk to him a little bit in French. Even at a young age, he’d make you feel comfortable around here, kind of just lighten up the atmosphere. Just a fun guy to be around and he’s definitely going to be missed around here.”

On Friday night, the Flyers will have a celebration of life for Parent, who died Sept. 21 at the age of 80. The ceremony will be held at Xfinity Mobile Arena and is open to fans.

Franchise icon Bobby Clarke and other former Flyers will be on hand.

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“It’s going to be a great thing,” Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet said. “It’s good for our players to see that, the legacy of all these great players.”

Tocchet’s team attended Parent’s funeral Oct. 3 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

“History’s big with me,” Tocchet said. “The young players maybe don’t know a little bit about Bernie. He’s a foundational piece for the organization over the years. What’s good about the Flyers? He’s one of those guys.

“The guys have kind of learned a little bit about him, too. Some guys that didn’t know much about Bernie, they’ve kind of asked questions about him. I think that helps the legacy of Bernie.”

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Parent was a devoted ambassador for the organization and the Ed Snider Youth Hockey & Education program. He was at a Flyers Community Caravan a couple of days before he died. He was a Flyer through and through, which is why the team wanted to honor him by attending his funeral.

“There are some guys, they’re alumni, but there are other guys that hang around, they’re around Philly, they lived the Flyer lifestyle forever,” Travis Konecny said. “He was a great example of being a Flyer. It was just important to show the support of when you’re a part of the Flyers’ organization, that we’re always going to be there for you.”

The fun-loving, always-smiling Parent was heavily involved in the community.

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“He lived down the shore, everybody knew him,” Tocchet said. “A couple of my buddies lived in Avalon, they’d see Bernie on his boat or walking around. He was a part of the fabric of the shore down there. He was an accessible guy.”

Parent is up there with Clarke and Bill Barber as franchise pillars. He backstopped the Flyers to their back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 1974 and 1975. He won the Vezina Trophy twice as the NHL’s top goalie and the Conn Smythe Trophy twice as the league’s postseason MVP.

“The Flyers meant a lot to Bernie, he was a legend around here, on and off the ice,” Couturier said. “I thought it was important as a team, as a group to go to the funeral and just pay our respect to the family. It was just the right thing to do.”