Ron Duguay spent 12 seasons in the NHL, most of them as one of the most recognizable players in New York. On Sunday his daughter posted a photograph of herself kneeling beside his hospital bed, one hand resting on his lap.
Shay Thomas wrote that she hadn’t planned on sharing anything publicly, but that she believes in the power of prayer and that her family needs it now.
“Please keep our dad in your prayers,” she wrote in an Instagram post, asking for “all the prayers we can get.”
What is Ron Duguay’s condition?
Duguay was diagnosed with colon cancer in December 2024 and kept it private for more than a year. His family went public in February, by which point it had reached stage 4 and spread to his liver. He has since lost both his appendix and his gallbladder.
The complications have mounted since. In July he collapsed at home and was taken to hospital with facial injuries, having fainted from dehydration after struggling to eat. Pressure built inside his liver as a consequence of the cancer and the surgery, chemotherapy and hepatic pump used to treat it, which led to internal bleeding in his digestive system. Further testing found varices, portal hypertensive gastropathy and an ulcer. He has been receiving blood transfusions.
Thomas did note in a follow-up that his numbers had started trending downward at recent appointments, which she described as encouraging.
The family launched a GoFundMe in February to cover treatment costs, including options they have been exploring outside the United States. Thomas explained at the time that her father had been unable to work as he normally would, and later said it had taken a great deal of persuading before he agreed to ask for help at all.
Duguay, 69, played from 1977 to 1989 with the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins and Los Angeles Kings, scoring 274 goals across 864 games. He remained a fixture in New York afterwards as a broadcaster and alumni presence.
Read more:
