Sarah Palin announced that her boyfriend, longtime NHL forward Ron Duguay, has died at 69 after a battle with colon cancer, saying he is with Jesus now.
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin shared the news on social media Thursday, telling followers that the retired New York Rangers favorite had lost his fight with the disease.
Warner Todd Huston reported that Palin had been at Duguay’s side often through the ordeal, though contact grew more limited as the illness wore on. The pair had been romantically linked since at least 2022.
Palin framed the loss in faith as much as grief.
"It’s with a shattered heart, but also deep peace knowing Ron is with Jesus now. He fought so hard. Love never ends,"
she wrote.
Duguay was no fringe player. The NHL took him 13th overall in the 1977 draft. He skated 12 pro seasons from 1977 to 1999, mostly with the New York Rangers and also with the Detroit Red Wings.
He logged more than 860 NHL games, scored 216 goals, added 320 assists, and finished with 536 points. His peak came in 1981-82, when he poured in a career-high 40 goals.
After hanging up the skates, he spent 12 years as an in-studio analyst on MSG Network’s Rangers coverage before stepping away from the mic in 2018.
The Rangers answered the death with a formal mourning statement that treated him as franchise family, not a footnote.
"The New York Rangers organization mourns the loss of Ron Duguay, one of the most popular players in franchise history. Ron’s signature skating style, with his hair flowing as he moved down the ice, captivated The Garden Faithful, and his skill, tenacity, and charisma earned him the admiration of all New Yorkers,"
the team said, adding that it joined the hockey world in condolences to his friends, family, and loved ones.
The cancer diagnosis came last February. Treatment, as described in the reporting, meant a string of difficult decisions and disappointing results. Palin stayed visible in support for much of that stretch.
Duguay’s daughter posted her own appeal as the family absorbed the blow. She said she had not planned to write anything public, then asked for prayer anyway.
"I wasn’t planning on posting anything. but I believe in the power of prayer, and right now, we need all the prayers we can get. And I know so many love him so much. Please keep our dad in your prayers."
No place of death was given in the initial report. The calendar date beyond Thursday was not fixed in that account either. What was fixed was the outcome: a 69-year-old husband of the ice, broadcaster, father, and companion to a former governor and one-time GOP vice presidential nominee was gone after colon cancer.
Palin’s note did not dwell on politics. It named Jesus, the fight, and love that does not end. The Rangers pointed to tenacity and charisma that filled Madison Square Garden. His daughter asked strangers for prayer.
Those are the public markers of the goodbye: a hockey life measured in goals and broadcasts, a late romance with a national conservative figure, and a final illness that did not yield.
When the scoreboard runs out, character and faith are what the people who loved him put on the record, and that still counts.
