Clifford "Red" Goupille

This is Clifford "Red Goupille, a defenseman out of Trois Rivieres. He played 222 NHL games over parts of 8 seasons - all with the Montreal Canadiens.

From 1937 through 1942 Goupille matured into "a highly effective" defensive defenseman known to play the game physically. He was a bruiser who kept the opposition honest when it came to abusing his smaller teammates.

He was also known for a rather odd and rather ineffective superstition. He always put a bottle of Coke in his shoe, claiming it was a guarantee he would score that night. Too bad it did not work better. Goupille had 12 career goals in 222 games.

Goupille's NHL career came to an end 6 games into the 1942-43 season. He joined the Army to help Canada's efforts in World War II. He was stationed in Montreal for the rest of that season and played senior hockey. For the next two seasons there is no record of him playing hockey at all, almost certainly due to the military commitments.

Goupille returned to the ice in 1945, playing senior hockey first in Hull then in Sherbrooke. He hung up the blades for good in 1951.