Mike Sullivan’s ode to Rangers icon Ron Duguay: ‘A great man’

TORONTO — Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan opened his Thursday morning media availability with condolences on the passing of former Blueshirt Ron Duguay.

Duguay, who spent eight of his 12-year NHL career in New York, died Thursday after a hard-fought battle with colon cancer. He was 69.

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Former governor of Alaska and his girlfriend, Sarah Palin, confirmed the news.

“Obviously, it’s a big loss for all of us,” Sullivan said before the Rangers fell 5-4 to the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday. “The Rangers organization, in particular.

We know he was a very popular Ranger. I had the privilege to play with Ron as a teammate for a year in the International Hockey League.

A great man and a terrific hockey player.”

Sullivan and Duguay overlapped as teammates during the 1990-91 season with the San Diego Gulls.

While Sullivan was at the start of his playing career, breaking into the NHL in October 1991, Duguay was nearing the end and ultimately played parts of five seasons with the Gulls.

“I grew up watching some of these guys when he played with the Rangers and I had the opportunity to play with him and Charlie Simmer,” Sullivan said. “Two guys that had pretty, pretty successful NHL careers.

It was the International Hockey League back in the day, for those of you guys that are old enough to remember it.

“I was in awe of those two guys because I grew up watching them play in the NHL. Just to have the opportunity to be one of their teammates was a great thrill for me as a young player.”

Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan looks on during the first period of a game against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y., Friday, Sept. 25, 2026.

The Rangers signed Luke Glendening to a one-year, $850,000 deal Thursday after bringing the veteran center in on a professional tryout earlier this week.

It is unclear when the 37-year-old will be inserted into the Blueshirts lineup, but he did not dress against the Maple Leafs on Thursday night. Glendening is likely to slot into the middle of the fourth line.

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Defenseman Sean Durzi, who missed practice Wednesday for “maintenance,” suited up against Toronto.

The Rangers scored four goals in a game for a league-leading seventh time Thursday night.

Recording an assist on all four Rangers goals in the loss, Adam Fox surpassed James Patrick for the 10th most in franchise history with 364. The 28-year-old also registered his fourth career four-point game, which pushed him past Carol Vadnais for the fourth-most four-point showings in franchise history among all Rangers defensemen.

Thursday night was Fox’s 498th NHL game, which means he surpassed Gary Suter for the third-most assists by an American defenseman through 500 games or less.