Exclusive | Ron Duguays celeb chef best friend Andrew Molen heartbroken over Rangers icons death

Ron Duguay’s popularity and influence spread far beyond the Rangers and the hockey world.His death at the age of 69 after a fight with colon cancer on Thursday left a void in celebrity chef Andrew Molen’s life.

Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mollie Walker about the inside buzz on the Rangers.Molen, whose resume includes notable stops at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay at The London Hotel and The Plaza Food Hall at The Plaza Hotel, said Duguay was someone he came to see not only as a friend, but as a “mentor.” “I am completely heartbroken by this news.

Having known him my entire life, he wasn’t just one of my best friends — he was my mentor,” Molen told The Post.“We traveled everywhere and spent so much of our lives together.I’ll always smile remembering the time I introduced him to tequila, and he told me, ‘Because of you, I love tequila.’ I’ll also never forget the moment I was right there with him when he first started talking to [Duguay’s girlfriend and former vice presidential candidate] Sarah Palin.

He was so incredibly excited to meet her, and I am so grateful that she was such a beautiful, supportive part of his life right until the very end.”Molen’s connection with Duguay and the Rangers runs deep, as his mother, Sanda, owned NYC institutions Tatou and Swells, helping form a deep connection with the Blueshirts, including Duguay.Duguay, an All-Star with the Rangers during the 1981-82 season, notched 340 points (164 goals, 176 assists) during eight seasons in New York and ended his 12-year NHL career with 620 points.

For a younger generation, he was known for his role as an analyst on MSG Network from 2007-18.Sign up for Inside the Rangers, a weekly Sports+ exclusive.

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