DESPITE HIS SMALL STATURE, CHARLIE HODGE SHONE AS JACQUES PLANTE’S REPLACEMENT, WINNING TWO VEZINA TROPHIES IN THE 1960S.

Charlie Hodge’s decade-long struggle to make a place for himself in the NHL got off to a good start. The 5-foot-6, 150-pound netminder was born in Lachine, Quebec and spent four years starring for the Junior Canadiens from 1949 to 1953. In 1950, the team, coached by Sam Pollock and Billy Rea, won the Memorial Cup as Canada’s top junior squad.

Hodge turned pro in the fall of 1953 and was sent to the Habs’ IHL affiliate, the Cincinnati Mohawks. The rookie netminder posted a 2.34 goals-against average and put up 10 regular season shutouts. Hodge blanked his opponents twice more in the postseason, more than pulling his own weight as the Mohawks captured the Turner Cup.

For the next nine years, Hodge lived out of his suitcase with a single impediment standing between him and one of the six jobs between the pipes with an NHL team – Jacques Plante. Most years, Hodge divided his time between two or three teams, occasionally getting the call to the big club to substitute for an injured Plante. He played 59 games as a replacement; Montreal won 33 of them and tied 10 others.

With Jacques Plante’s departure, Hodge finally had a shot at the starting job. He made the most of his opportunity and spent the next four seasons with the Montreal Canadiens. With cat-like reflexes and the flexibility of a rag doll, Hodge’s time in Montreal saw him emerge as one of the best backstops in Canadiens history.

Hodge’s stats for the 1963-64 season were virtually identical to those he had compiled as a part-timer, when he first filled in with the team during 1954-55. They were good enough to earn him the Vézina Trophy as the NHL’s top goalie. The following year, the 31-year-old Hodge claimed his first Stanley Cup as he led the Canadiens to the franchise’s 13th championship.

Another Cup followed in the spring of 1966. So did a second Vézina Trophy, this one shared with veteran “Gump” Worsley. Hodge played 37 games for the Habs in 1966-67, dividing the chore with both Worsley and promising newcomer Rogatien Vachon in the final year of the six-team NHL.

Picked up by the expansion Oakland Seals, Hodge handled the bulk of the netminding duties in 1967-68, one of the few bright spots on a lacklustre team. When the NHL expanded once again prior to the 1970-71 campaign, the Vancouver Canucks drafted the veteran netminder. In his final NHL campaign, Hodge came out on the winning side 15 times, losing only 13 games for a team that lost 22 games more than it won.

Charlie Hodge played 237 regular season games as a member of the Montreal Canadiens, eighth among all goaltenders. His 117 wins are good for ninth place on the all-time list and his 21 shutouts rank eighth among Montreal goalies. Hodge’s 2.46 career goals-against average sits seventh-best among those who strapped on the pads to defend the Canadiens’ net.