For Duguay, kindness was always in style, recalls hockey Maven Fischler

Legendary hockey reporter Stan Fischler, known as "The Hockey Maven," has been around the New York Rangers for decades. He began working with the Rangers in the 1954-55 season as an assistant publicist. In 1955, he began covering the Rangers as the beat writer for Hearst's New York Journal-American and has been writing out the team since, including his weekly column on NHL.com. Today, he writes about Ron Duguay, a Rangers legend from the 1970s and 80s, who died Thursday at the age of 69.

I always wanted to be like Ron Duguay.

He was like Mister Manhattan -- suave, handsome with a winning smile, a big heart a genuine Ranger through and through.

Gotta tell ya; I envied the guy but also loved him as a player who never -- win or lose -- rejected an interview or turned his back on anybody.

But The Maven being like 'Doogie?' Never happen.

Well guess what, it did happen and for that I eternally thank an MSG Networks producer of too long to remember. She called me into her office and proceeded to stun me to the very core.

"I want you to go shopping with Ron Duguay," she matter-of-factly said.

Not so matter of factly, I shot back: "Is this some sort of joke?"

Without further ado, she laid out the plan. Doogie was the ultimate hip guy. Someone -- I still wanna lay my hands on him -- suggested that when it came to haberdashery and not knowing what to wear, I was the epitome of unhip.

"The deal," she explained, "is that you and your pal Ron will meet at this upscale -- very high on the high end -- clothing place just south of Chambers Street and Mister Duguay will dress you in his inimitable hip fashion."

A couple of days later, there we were in the store -- me and Ron. I forced a smile not daring to say what I was thinking -- WHAT THE HECK AND I DOING IN THIS PLACE?

But Ronnie made it nice and easy. In a matter of minutes, I was feeling like his very square older brother getting a kind introduction to the real fashion world. 

In minutes I loosened up enough to say, "Ron, this is not what it was like when I got my Bar Mitzvah suit."

He laughed and then lined up my outfit: first a dazzling pair of brown boots, stylish blue jeans, a snazzy -- dare I say sexy -- white shirt and, by far best of all -- a brown leather jacket that fit me, like a T, as in terrific.

Taken all together -- me all dressed up -- I now figured I now not only dressed like Ron Duguay -- I felt like Doogie.

The MSG deal, of course, was to make a feature out of it. A cameraman followed us around the store and then came the coup of all coups, we went out on the street like to hip men about town.

What's my point? Ron Duguay being the very king of hip, could have made me feel -- kind of out of it. But, no that was not the way he was.

Matter of fact it was one of the best days of my youth and only because Sir Ron was such a good, down-to-earth guy. 

"You look very handsome, Stan," he said as we posed outside the swank clothes joint. "I dare say, VERY HANDSOME." 

I spent lots of time with Ron on the hockey team; endless times but this episode was a true one and only. 

Thanks, pal, I'll always remember -- and love you -- for this.

(And just between us -- and only us -- I did have one regret.; Nobody asked me for an autograph!)

R.I.P. Dear buddy.

Top photo: Ron Duguay was a fashion maven, especially during his time with the New York Rangers. Duguay, who died Thursday 69, once took hockey journalist Stan Fischler (r.), the hockey Maven, with him on a shopping trip back in the day. In a photo from today, Fischler shows off the jacket Duguay bought for him all those years ago.