New York Rangers: Ron Duguay will not return to MSG network coverage

After 12 years as a studio analyst on the MSG network, Rangers alumni Ron Duguay announced on Twitter that he would not be returning for the 2018-2019 season.

For whatever reason, we are conditioned to watching studio show analysis during intermissions. Typically these shows are littered with talking heads speaking in cliches, an interview with a player who gives non-answers to the most basic of questions and lots of fake, obnoxious laughter to bad jokes. The New York Rangers and MSG network are working towards a better program.

Designing a compelling studio show is amongst the most difficult things in sports television. Of the small army of studio shows, only TNT’s “Inside the NBA,” produces compelling segments that provides interesting and engaging analysis.

In the case of Ron Duguay, for whatever reason, the network decided not to bring him back. As a Ranger alumni, Duguay was a staple on both the network and physically at the Garden. He was always standing outside of the visitor’s tunnel wearing a bizarre suit and taking in the game from ice level.

Aside from looking like Jon Bon Jovi, Duguay had garnered a reputation as a less than progressive voice on tv. Former players have a bad habit of talking only in cliches and sounding like an old man yelling at a cloud. Whenever someone starts a sentence with “back in my day,” you can tell they are about to extoll the virtues of a bygone era.

There’s a reason players wear helmets and don’t smoke cigarettes during intermission anymore. Science has told us that helmets can help limit concussions and cigarettes cause lung cancer. Just because something was done a certain way for a long time does not mean it is right.

The ugly

Last season, during a game between the New York Rangers and the Los Angeles Kings, Dugauy set off an internet firestorm. New York had lost the game due to a pair of killer penalties at key points in the game. The Kings converted these chances which were ultimately the difference in the game.

When Duguay voiced his disgust with the officials, he backhandedly insulted women’s hockey.

“I think these guys would have been better off doing women’s hockey, the way they did the officiating — because they were kind of soft,” Duguay said.

So yes, an elderly white man does not have a socially progressive view of women’s sports.

It is worth mentioning that checking is not allowed in women’s hockey, the point that Duguay was making. Sensing a disaster, Duguay apologized when the post game show came back from commercial break.

Conclusion

Aside from being less than progressive, Duguay was just an outright bad analyst. When a talking head behind a desk is only using cliches to make points, they are not providing the viewer anything worth watching.

MSG has the luxury of having the excellent Steve Valiquette as a studio analyst. The former NHL goaltender uses analytics in an easy to understand way that provides insight to the viewer. Now, there is a place for former players who only speak in cliches, but it is not on tv for all 82 games of an NHL season.

An occasional guest spot here and there would not hurt. But the same act night after night gets stale.

It’ll be interesting to see if the studio show starts the season with only one analyst alongside a host.