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
DiedApril 16, 2016(2016-04-16) (aged 82)
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Height5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Weight150 lb (68 kg; 10 st 10 lb)
PositionGoaltender
CaughtLeft
Played forMontreal Canadiens
Oakland Seals
Vancouver Canucks
Providence Reds
Playing career1955–1971

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 seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPWLTMINGASOGAASV%GPWLMINGASOGAASV%
1949–50Montreal Junior CanadiensQJHL
1949–50Montreal Junior CanadiensM-Cup2021221105.41
1950–51Montreal Junior CanadiensQJHL23148013205712.599455643103.30
1951–52Montreal Junior CanadiensQJHL4532103270010032.2211926691901.70
1951–52Montreal RoyalsQMHL100040304.50
1951–52Montreal Junior CanadiensM-Cup8444803214.00
1952–53Montreal Junior CanadiensQJHL443590264010052.2775601802.57
1952–53Montreal RoyalsQMHL101060404.00
1953–54Cincinnati MohawksIHL623720145102.3411836601921.73
1953–54Buffalo BisonsAHL32101801003.33
1954–55Montreal CanadiensNHL146448203112.27.91841284604.29.867
1954–55Providence RedsAHL53203001813.60
1954–55Montreal RoyalsQHL3517171210011323.23
1955–56Seattle AmericansWHL7031372424523963.38
1955–56Montreal CanadiensNHL
1956–57Rochester AmericansAHL4118184246013223.22
1956–57Shawinigan CataractsQHL147528593922.72
1957–58Montreal CanadiensNHL128227203112.58.912
1957–58Montreal RoyalsQHL4823214288015343.197243802513.95
1958–59Montreal RoyalsQHL24158114406712.79220120402.00
1958–59Rochester AmericansAHL40402401203.00
1958–59Montreal CanadiensNHL2110120603.00.880
1959–60Montreal RoyalsEPHL331512619809652.91
1959–60Hull-Ottawa CanadiensEPHL26156515607422.857344302403.35
1959–60Montreal CanadiensNHL101060303.00.880
1960–61Montreal CanadiensNHL30188418007442.47.917
1960–61Montreal RoyalsEPHL22513413207403.36
1961–62Quebec AcesAHL6528334390018552.85
1962–63Quebec AcesAHL67312511402019042.84
1963–64Montreal CanadiensNHL62331811372014082.26.9207344201612.29.920
1963–64Quebec AcesAHL104606003213.20
1964–65Montreal CanadiensNHL53261610318013532.55.9055323001012.00.925
1965–66Montreal CanadiensNHL26127213015612.58.906
1966–67Montreal CanadiensNHL371115720558832.57.910
1967–68Oakland SealsNHL58132913331115832.86.905
1968–69Oakland SealsNHL144617814803.69.881
1968–69Vancouver CanucksWHL137247793202.548804971211.45
1969–70Oakland SealsNHL143527384303.50.891
1970–71Vancouver CanucksNHL3515135196711203.42.892
AHL totals19586891911,700567132.91
NHL totals3581501256120,753925242.70.90716788043222.39.915

"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