Hodge's first NHL game happened in 1954 with Montreal. But because teams at that time only carried one goalie, and Montreal had perhaps the best goalie of the time in Jacques Plante, Charlie was only used in emergency situations. During this time, he played mostly in the AHL. When Plante was traded in 1962, Charlie got his chance to play full-time. He twice won the Vezina Trophy for best goaltender, once by himself 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 one game in the finals in 1955, but lost to Detroit.