Langway became a Stanley Cup champion as 22-year-old rookie with the Montreal Canadiens in 1979. But it took a trade to the Washington Capitals three years later for him to become known as the "Secretary of Defense."

The Canadiens selected Langway, a defenseman, in the second round (No. 36) of the 1977 NHL Draft, and he came to Montreal after playing with Birmingham of the World Hockey Association in 1977-78. The Canadiens won the Stanley Cup for the fourth straight season in 1979 with a roster that included Hockey Hall of Famers Guy Lafleur, Steve Shutt, Jacques Lemaire, Larry Robinson, Guy Lapointe, Bob Gainey, Serge Savard, Yvan Cournoyer, Ken Dryden -- and Langway, who was inducted in 2002.

When Langway was traded to the Capitals on Sept. 9, 1982, he joined a team that went 26-41 with 13 ties in 1981-82 and hadn't qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in any of its first eight NHL seasons.

"The best way to put it is the next step after making it into the NHL is making a name in the NHL," Langway said in 2018. "The Montreal Canadiens with Bob Gainey, Larry Robinson, the whole crew; 80 percent of the players I played with in Montreal were Hall of Famers, they made my career. But to make a name, (general manager) David Poile and the Washington Capitals did that."

The trade for Langway gave the Capitals instant credibility. They went 39-25 with 16 ties in 1982-83, finishing third in the Patrick Division and qualifying for the playoffs for the first time. Langway won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman that season, when he had 32 points (three goals, 29 assists) in 80 games and Washington finished fifth in the League by allowing 3.54 goals per game (a big improvement after allowing 4.22 goals per game in 1981-82).

He won the Norris again in 1983-84, when he had 33 points (nine goals, 24 assists) in 80 games and the Capitals allowed a League-low 2.83 goals per game, and finished second to Wayne Gretzky in voting for the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player.

"I got the credit for a lot of things," said Langway, who grew up in Randolph, Massachusetts, after being born in Taiwan, where his father was stationed with the U.S. Navy. "(Coach) Bryan Murray had a defensive theory and it played right into my hands: to win the game 2-1 or 3-1 and be satisfied."

Langway played 11 seasons with Washington before knee injuries ended his NHL career in 1993. He also played six games as an assistant for Richmond of the ECHL in 1994-95, 46 games as a player-assistant with San Francisco in the International Hockey League in 1995-96 and 10 games as an assistant with Providence in the American Hockey League in 1997-98.

In 994 NHL games, Langway had 329 points (51 goals, 278 assists). He also had 27 points (five goals, 22 assists) in 104 playoff games.

The Capitals retired his No. 5 on Nov. 26, 1997, and he was voted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 1999, three years before his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

NOTES & TRANSACTIONS

• NHL First All-Star Team (1983, 1984)
• Canada Cup All-Star Team (1984)
• NHL Second All-Star Team (1985)
• Played in NHL All-Star Game (1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986)
• Selected by Birmingham (WHA) in 1977 WHA Amateur Draft, May, 1977.
• Claimed by Montreal as a fill-in during Expansion Draft, June 13, 1979.
• Traded to Washington by Montreal with Doug Jarvis, Craig Laughlin and Brian Engblom for Ryan Walter and Rick Green, September 9, 1982.