Rod 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. 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 that not only saved the franchise from moving out of D.C., but also stocked them for an extended string of postseason appearances, after never having reached the playoffs previously.
Langway was the long-time captain of the Washington Capitals, and what many people considered the franchise's saviour, despite not being the sort of player that one would expect to save a franchise. In contrast to Bobby Hull and Brad Park, Langway was the ultimate defender whose shot was likened to a "cool summer breeze", scoring only 3 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's goals-against which enabled them to finally make the playoffs. As captain, Langway was an accomplished leader that demanded greatness from himself and others.
Langway won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenceman in both 1983 and 1984. He also earning 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.
During the 2003 - 2004 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.
