Rod Langway

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Rod Cory Langway (born May 3, 1957 in Taipei, Taiwan) is a former American professional ice hockey defenceman in the National Hockey League (NHL), elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002. He was born when his father, an American serviceman, was stationed in Taiwan, and he is the only NHL player to have been born in Taiwan. He grew up in Randolph, Massachusetts, and didn't begin playing hockey until age 13, in 1970. He then played for his high school team, the Randolph Rockets, which he led to state tourney appearances in 1973 and 1975. He was also the quarterback for the Randolph football team, and it was a football recruiter from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) who convinced him to play college hockey at UNH.

A left-handed shot, Langway was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL in 1977 and by the Birmingham Bulls of the WHA in the same year. He played one season for the Bulls (1977-78) before joining the Canadiens for the 1978-79 NHL season, and would win the Stanley Cup that year. He played for Montreal until he was traded to the Washington Capitals for the start of the 1982-83 season. The Capitals acquired Langway from the Canadiens in a blockbuster trade -- going with Doug Jarvis, Craig Laughlin, and Brian Engblom in exchange for Ryan Walter and Rick Green -- that not only saved the franchise from moving out of D.C., but also stocked them for an extended string of postseason appearances. After not making the playoffs in their first eight seasons in the league, the Capitals competed in the postseason in every one of the 11 years that Langway was with the team.

Langway was a long-time captain of the Capitals, and many people considered him the franchise's savior, despite not being the sort of player that one would expect to save a franchise. In contrast to players like Bobby Orr, Bobby Hull, and Brad Park, Langway was the ultimate defender whose shot was likened to a "cool summer breeze," scoring only three goals during one of his best seasons. Despite his lack of offensive production, his excellence at his position was credited with significantly reducing the Capitals' goals against average, which enabled them to finally make the playoffs. As captain, Langway was an accomplished leader who demanded greatness from himself and others, and earning him the nickname the "Secretary of Defence."

Langway won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenceman in both 1983 and 1984. He earned two postseason All-Star First Team selections and one Second Team selection as a defencemen and finished runner-up to Wayne Gretzky for the Hart Trophy in 1982. He was also part of the NHL All-Star team that played the Soviet national hockey team in Rendez-Vous '87. Upon his retirement from the NHL in 1993, Langway was the last active player that won a Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens during their late-70s dynasty.

Langway served as player-coach for the San Francisco Spiders during their single season as an IHL team in 1995-1996. Langway began his career before helmets were mandatory and was the only member of the Spiders who played without a helmet under a league grandfather clause.

During the 2003-04 season, Langway coached the Richmond Riverdogs expansion franchise in the United Hockey League to a division championship, and a first-round playoff loss to the Elmira Jackals. Team management did not extend Langway's contract after the first season.

Langway's jersey number (#5) was retired by the Capitals on November 26, 1997, and he was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1999. His career was crowned with his election to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002.

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Preceded by
Ryan Walter		 Washington Capitals captains
1982-93		 Succeeded by
Kevin Hatcher
Preceded by
Doug Wilson		 Winner of the Norris Trophy
1983, 1984		 Succeeded by
Paul Coffey
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