Ron Duguay, whose long, flowing hair and movie star looks made him a favorite of Rangers fans in the late 1970s and early 1980s, died Thursday after a battle with colon cancer. He was 69 years old.
“The New York Rangers organization mourns the loss of Ron Duguay, one of the most popular players in franchise history,” the team said in a statement. “Ron’s signature skating style – complete with flowing hair as he moved across the ice – captivated the Garden faithful, and his skill, tenacity and charisma earned him the admiration of all New Yorkers. We join the hockey community in sending our condolences to Ron’s friends, family and loved ones during this difficult time.”
Duguay revealed his cancer diagnosis in February. On October 11, his daughter, Shay Thomas, suggested that her father had taken a turn for the worse, announcing in an Instagram post that the family “needs all the prayers they can get.”
On Sunday, Duguay’s girlfriend, Sarah Palin, a former Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential candidate as John McCain’s running mate, posted a photo of herself holding Duguay’s hand and saying, “Prayers for Ron Duguay are so appreciated.” Palin and Duguay have been a couple since 2022.
On Thursday, Palin tweeted: “It is with a broken heart, but also deep peace to know that Ron is with Jesus now. He fought so hard. Love never ends.”
Ron Duguay and Sarah Palin in 2022. Credit: Getty Images
Duguay, who worked as a studio hockey analyst for MSG Network from 2007 to 2018, was one of the faces of the Rangers team that captured the city’s imagination when it reached the 1979 Stanley Cup final — upsetting the favored Islanders in the semifinals — before losing to the Montreal Canadiens.
He was one of the actors who were part of the series of television commercials for Sasson jeans, alongside Phil Esposito, Dave Maloney, Ron Greschner and others.
“When we went to the final in 1979 and lost in Montreal. . . we were a group of 24 and under guys,” recalls Maloney, now a Rangers TV analyst on MSG. “It was a pretty young, exuberant group. A group that finally decided, I guess, that there was something to work with here.”
Duguay was born on July 6, 1957 and raised in Sudbury, Ontario. He was drafted in the first round of two rival professional hockey leagues in 1977. The Rangers selected him 13th overall in the NHL draft and the Winnipeg Jets selected him 3rd overall in the WHA draft. He signed with the Rangers and quickly became one of the faces of the team.
As part of his rookie hazing, Duguay had his veteran teammates cut his trademark long hair, but the hair grew back. And because he played without a helmet, his flowing hair became what quickly identified him on the ice and made him something of a matinee idol. At games in Philadelphia, fans heckled him and called him “Pretty Boy.” But despite his good looks, he was very tough and could fight if necessary.
Duguay was one of the last players to skate without a helmet in the NHL.
He quickly became one of the young players who agreed to live in Manhattan, and on a team that loved to party, Duguay was one of the hardest-partying players.
“He ate the New York thing and got involved,” Maloney said.
Ron Duguay of the New York Rangers poses for a portrait on the streets of New York in March 1980. Credit: Getty Images/Bruce Bennett Studios
“He was very outgoing, very popular among his teammates, and he was a very good player,” said Rick Carpiniello, a former Rangers writer who wrote several books about the team. “I think he was infuriating in the sense that, for some coaches, like Herb (Brooks), he wasn’t a guy that just played the system. You know, he’s a little freewheeling, he goes his own way.
Maloney, however, insisted that regardless of his lifestyle, Duguay was fundamentally a good person and a good player.
“I don’t know if there’s any hypothesis there, this Manhattan bon vivant, Andy Warhol, you had this whole thing, Studio 54, that he was involved in,” Maloney said. “But deep down, he was a good guy. He just went about his business. (And) he was a hell of a player to begin with.
Duguay led the Rangers with 76 points during the 1981–82 season, setting a career high with 40 goals and earning his first All-Star selection.
He played 12 seasons in the NHL (1977-89) for four teams, including two stints with the Rangers. He scored 274 goals and 346 assists in 860 regular season games and added 31 goals and 22 assists in 89 playoff games. In 499 games with the Rangers, he had 164 goals and 176 assists, including 20 goals and 20 assists in 71 games as a 20-year-old rookie in 1977-78.
The Rangers traded him to Detroit in a six-player deal in the summer of 1983. He had two 30-goal seasons – including 38 goals and 51 assists in a career-high 89-point season – for the Red Wings before being traded to Pittsburgh during the 1985-86 season.
The Penguins traded him to the Rangers midway through the 1986-87 season and the Rangers traded him to the Kings during the 1987-88 season. He finished his NHL career with the Kings before playing one season in Germany and two in the International Hockey League. He retired as a player in 1992.
“It’s a big loss for all of us, the Rangers organization in particular,” coach Mike Sullivan said during the team’s morning skate Thursday in Toronto. “We know he was a very popular Ranger. I had the privilege of playing with Ron for a year in the International Hockey League (with the San Diego Gulls). A great man and a tremendous hockey player.
Ron Duguay skates with the puck during the Islanders and Rangers alumni game at Northwell Health Rink in East Meadow on January 22, 2023. Credit: Brad Penner
During his post-playing career, Duguay coached the minor league Jacksonville Barracudas for four seasons, leading them to a playoff championship during the 2003–04 season in the independent WHA2.
Duguay was married twice, to model Robin Bobo, with whom he had two children, daughters Shay Thomas and Amber Stavros, and to Kim Alexis, with whom he had a son, Noah.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He spent more than two decades covering the NHL and nearly every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
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