Sept. 9: Capitals acquire Langway from Canadiens

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: Sept. 9
1982: The Washington Capitals, who have yet to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs since entering the NHL in 1974, make a franchise-transforming trade with the Montreal Canadiens. The Capitals acquire defensemen
Rod Langway
and
Brian Engblom
, as well as forwards
Doug Jarvis
and
Craig Laughlin
, from the Canadiens for forward
Ryan Walter
and defenseman
Rick Green
.

The most important acquisition for the Capitals is Langway, a part of the
Canadiens' 1979 Stanley Cup-winning team
behind their "Big Three" of
Serge Savard
,
Larry Robinson
and
Guy Lapointe
on defense. Langway wins
the Norris Trophy
as the League's best defenseman in each of his first two seasons with the Capitals. Washington begins a streak of 14 consecutive playoff appearances in 1983.
Langway is inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002.
On the same day, Washington coach Bryan Murray names younger brother Terry as his assistant. The Murrays are the first brother combination in NHL history to coach the same team at the same time.
MORE MOMENTS
1960: The Hockey Hall of Fame announces its newest members --
George Boucher
,
Sylvio Mantha
and
Jack Walker
as players, and Charles Adams and Frank Selke as builders.
1997:
Mario Lemieux
heads the new class of inductees at the Hall of Fame. As it did with players like
Gordie Howe
and
Bobby Orr
, the Hall waives the three-year waiting period for Lemieux after he retires in 1997. Also like Howe, Lemieux later returns as an active NHL player after being inducted.

2013:
Miikka Kiprusoff
, the 2005-06
Vezina Trophy
winner with the Calgary Flames, announces his retirement. Kiprusoff, a fifth-round choice (No. 116) by the San Jose Sharks in the 1995 NHL Draft, blossoms into one of the NHL's top goalies after being traded to the Flames on Nov. 16, 2003. He sparks the Flames to
Game 7 of the 2004 Stanley Cup Final
, wins the Vezina and
Jennings
trophies in 2005-06 and wins at least 35 games in seven consecutive seasons from 2005-06 through 2011-12. He retires with 319 victories, a 2.49 goals-against average and 44 shutouts.
2017:
Pierre Pilote
, a three-time Norris Trophy-winning defenseman with the Chicago Blackhawks and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame,
dies at age 85
. Pilote joins the Blackhawks in 1955 and is one of five Hall of Famers on Chicago's 1961 Stanley Cup-winning team, the first for the Blackhawks since 1938. He wins the
Norris Trophy
in 1963, 1964 and 1965. Pilote is named captain for the 1961-62 season and holds the job through 1967-68, when he's traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. He retires after the 1968-69 season and is inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975. The Blackhawks retire his No. 3 in 2008.
2018: The Montreal Canadiens trade their captain, forward Max Pacioretty, to the Vegas Golden Knights for forward Tomas Tatar, forward prospect
Nick Suzuki
and a second-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. Pacioretty, a five-time 30-goal scorer and Montreal's captain since Sept. 18, 2015, quickly signs a four-year contract extension with his new team.