Charlie Hodge (ice hockey)

Charles Edward Hodge (July 28, 1933 – April 16, 2016) was a Canadian ice hockey player who played as a goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks, and Oakland Seals of the National Hockey League between 1954 and 1971.

Charlie Hodge
Hodge in 1964
Born (1933-07-28)July 28, 1933
Lachine, Quebec, Canada
Died April 16, 2016(2016-04-16) (aged 82)
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Height 5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Weight 150 lb (68 kg; 10 st 10 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for Montreal Canadiens
Oakland Seals
Vancouver Canucks
Providence Reds
Playing career 1955–1971

Early career

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Charlie Hodge was born in Lachine, Quebec. Hodge was devoted to becoming a member of the Montreal Canadiens. Charlie Hodge began his hockey career with the Montreal Jr. Canadiens in 1950. In 1952, Hodge began showing his true skills finishing with a 2.22 GAA. The next year, he led the Quebec Junior Hockey League with 35 wins and 5 shutouts. Hodge then moved on to the Cincinnati Mohawks in the International Hockey League. There, he led the league in wins and shutouts and helped the Cincinnati Mohawks win the Turner Cup. In the 1954–55 season, he played his first game with the Montreal Canadiens.

NHL career

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Hodge's first NHL game occurred in 1954 with Montreal. Because teams in that era only carried one goalie, and Montreal had perhaps the best goalie of the era in Jacques Plante, Hodge was only used in emergency situations. During this time, he played mostly in the American Hockey League. When Plante was traded in 1963, Hodge got his chance to play full-time. He twice won the Vezina Trophy for being the goaltender of the team allowing the fewest goals during the regular season, once outright in 1963–64 and shared with Gump Worsley in 1965–66. Hodge's name appears on the league championship Stanley Cup six times, although he only actually played in one of those finals. He also played 1 game in the finals in 1955, but lost to Detroit. In 1967, young goaltender Rogatien Vachon was called up by the Canadiens. Vachon played superbly, and there was no more room for Hodge. Hodge was left unprotected in 1967 and he was picked up by the Oakland Seals in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft.

In Oakland, Hodge earned 13 wins, including 3 shutouts. Next season, he saw his playing time greatly reduced and was sent down to the Western Hockey League where he played for the Vancouver Canucks. Hodge was an expansion pick again when the Vancouver Canucks entered the NHL in 1970. He posted a winning record while sharing netminding duties with George Gardner and Dunc Wilson. He retired after being unable to come to contract terms with General Manager Bud Poile.

Post-playing career

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Hodge sold real estate for a decade until Winnipeg Jets GM John Ferguson recruited him for the team's scout in Western Canada.

Hodge thereafter was an amateur scout for the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning after two decades with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He received Stanley Cup rings with Pittsburgh in 1991 and 1992. He primarily scouted the Vancouver Giants and Chilliwack Bruins of the Western Hockey League and the Lower Mainland clubs in the British Columbia Hockey League.

Awards and achievements

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Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1949–50 Montreal Junior Canadiens QJHL
1949–50 Montreal Junior Canadiens M-Cup 2 0 2 122 11 0 5.41
1950–51 Montreal Junior Canadiens QJHL 23 14 8 0 1320 57 1 2.59 9 4 5 564 31 0 3.30
1951–52 Montreal Junior Canadiens QJHL 45 32 10 3 2700 100 3 2.22 11 9 2 669 19 0 1.70
1951–52 Montreal Royals QMHL 1 0 0 0 40 3 0 4.50
1951–52 Montreal Junior Canadiens M-Cup 8 4 4 480 32 1 4.00
1952–53 Montreal Junior Canadiens QJHL 44 35 9 0 2640 100 5 2.27 7 560 18 0 2.57
1952–53 Montreal Royals QMHL 1 0 1 0 60 4 0 4.00
1953–54 Cincinnati Mohawks IHL 62 3720 145 10 2.34 11 8 3 660 19 2 1.73
1953–54 Buffalo Bisons AHL 3 2 1 0 180 10 0 3.33
1954–55 Montreal Canadiens NHL 14 6 4 4 820 31 1 2.27 .918 4 1 2 84 6 0 4.29 .867
1954–55 Providence Reds AHL 5 3 2 0 300 18 1 3.60
1954–55 Montreal Royals QHL 35 17 17 1 2100 113 2 3.23
1955–56 Seattle Americans WHL 70 31 37 2 4245 239 6 3.38
1955–56 Montreal Canadiens NHL
1956–57 Rochester Americans AHL 41 18 18 4 2460 132 2 3.22
1956–57 Shawinigan Cataracts QHL 14 7 5 2 859 39 2 2.72
1957–58 Montreal Canadiens NHL 12 8 2 2 720 31 1 2.58 .912
1957–58 Montreal Royals QHL 48 23 21 4 2880 153 4 3.19 7 2 4 380 25 1 3.95
1958–59 Montreal Royals QHL 24 15 8 1 1440 67 1 2.79 2 2 0 120 4 0 2.00
1958–59 Rochester Americans AHL 4 0 4 0 240 12 0 3.00
1958–59 Montreal Canadiens NHL 2 1 1 0 120 6 0 3.00 .880
1959–60 Montreal Royals EPHL 33 15 12 6 1980 96 5 2.91
1959–60 Hull-Ottawa Canadiens EPHL 26 15 6 5 1560 74 2 2.85 7 3 4 430 24 0 3.35
1959–60 Montreal Canadiens NHL 1 0 1 0 60 3 0 3.00 .880
1960–61 Montreal Canadiens NHL 30 18 8 4 1800 74 4 2.47 .917
1960–61 Montreal Royals EPHL 22 5 13 4 1320 74 0 3.36
1961–62 Quebec Aces AHL 65 28 33 4 3900 185 5 2.85
1962–63 Quebec Aces AHL 67 31 25 11 4020 190 4 2.84
1963–64 Montreal Canadiens NHL 62 33 18 11 3720 140 8 2.26 .920 7 3 4 420 16 1 2.29 .920
1963–64 Quebec Aces AHL 10 4 6 0 600 32 1 3.20
1964–65 Montreal Canadiens NHL 53 26 16 10 3180 135 3 2.55 .905 5 3 2 300 10 1 2.00 .925
1965–66 Montreal Canadiens NHL 26 12 7 2 1301 56 1 2.58 .906
1966–67 Montreal Canadiens NHL 37 11 15 7 2055 88 3 2.57 .910
1967–68 Oakland Seals NHL 58 13 29 13 3311 158 3 2.86 .905
1968–69 Oakland Seals NHL 14 4 6 1 781 48 0 3.69 .881
1968–69 Vancouver Canucks WHL 13 7 2 4 779 32 0 2.54 8 8 0 497 12 1 1.45
1969–70 Oakland Seals NHL 14 3 5 2 738 43 0 3.50 .891
1970–71 Vancouver Canucks NHL 35 15 13 5 1967 112 0 3.42 .892
AHL totals 195 86 89 19 11,700 567 13 2.91
NHL totals 358 150 125 61 20,753 925 24 2.70 .907 16 7 8 804 32 2 2.39 .915

"Hodge's stats". The Goaltender Home Page. Retrieved 2017-08-07.

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Preceded by Winner of the Vezina Trophy
1964
Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the Vezina Trophy
with Gump Worsley

1966
Succeeded by