Canucks Expansion Goalie Loses Fight

Playing in the days of the six team dynasty in the NHL saw the likes of Terry Sawchuk, GumpWorsley, Glen Hall and the great Charlie Hodge, whose number was retired by Montreal October 7^th, 1995.

Hodge began his career playing Major Junior with the Quebec Montreal Jr. Canadians for three seasons and from there moved to the Montreal Royals earning $4,500 for the season and an additional $500 for practicing with the Canadians.

He was extremely grateful to the Montreal organization for giving him his start after Bill Durnan had retired and Gerry McNeil had fractured his jaw.

Goaltending in that era was different from what it is today and not just the style but the equipment and overall technology.

You had to learn either by yourself or having someone gives you guidance at various stages of your career, but while Charlie had help (not much) he was set on teaching himself.

His first venture into organized hockey came at age 12 as he was watching his school’s team practice, when the coach ordered the goaltender off the ice following a heated argument over his play, to which Plante asked to replace him.

The coach permitted him to play since there was no other available goaltender; it was quickly apparent that Plante could hold his own.

His first taste of NHL action came in the net of the Canadians in 1954-55 season when he suited up for 14 games managing six win’s, 4 losses and a GAA of 2.27 with 820 minutes played.

The club’s official name is le Club de hockey Canadien and was founded in 1909 by J. Ambrose O’Brien and is the longest continuously operating professional ice hockey team worldwide.

Charlie was considered to be one of the innovators in the hockey world and played for Montreal from 1953 to 1963.

During his duration, with the Canadians the team won the Lord Stanley’s Cup six (6) times, including five consecutive wins.

Not only known for his innovative style of play, Charlie Hodge was the first NHL goaltender to wear a mask in a game of regulation play.

It should be noted that he tested several versions,  one of which included a mask/helmet combination, which was an early prototype of today’s mask/helmet used by the majority of goaltenders at all levels of the game.

In addition, he was the first NHL goaltender to play the puck outside his crease supporting his defencemen as well as giving direction to his players who were behind the play.

In 1968-69, he appeared in 13 games with the Western Hockey League Vancouver Canucks, plus 14 additional starts with the NHL’s Golden Seals of California.

He was selected by the Canucks in the 1970 expansion draft and played in 35 games in the Canucks’ first NHL season, splitting the duties with Dunc Wilson and George Gardner.

Following a stale-mate on contract terms on a new contract deal with Canucks GM Bud Poile,

Charlie retired the following summer, but still had a passion for the game.

Following his retirement he coached the major junior Vancouver Nats for parts of two seasons.

He also sold real estate for a decade (?) before moving into the role of scouting; first for the Winnipeg Jets.

Former teammate John Ferguson became GM of the Jets (1978) and convinced Charlie to join his staff in the early 80s.

At first Charlie worked all over North America and when Ferguson was fired in October 1988 and Charlie was sent packing with him.

Hodge landed with the Pittsburgh Penguins and worked for them for nearly two decades. He was let go in 2004, but moved on to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Around the rink, he was known for his go-ahead, crusty manner and veteran Oilers Scout Bob Brown mentioned to Sun’s Gary Kingston “If he’s not cantankerous when he gets to the rink, he’s not feeling good.”

Gary also found out that Hodge also nearly went to the Olympics as a canoeist and as Charlie stated “With partner Arthur Jordan, we won the North American paddle tandem in 1955; beat a team that ended up representing Canada in 1956 and a team that represented the U.S. But then I was basically kicked out because I was being paid to play hockey.”

He was a regular at Vancouver Giants games and knew more about the game than most and was freely giving his help to anyone who asked.

The Vancouver Giants recently bestowed the honour of giving his own “seat” at the Pacific Coliseum in recognition of his contribution to the game, the fans and his Family.

He is truly a Legend, a Friend and an Ambassador of the game, who will be deeply missed by all who knew him.

RIP Charlie!!