Sarah Palin denies romance rumors with ex-NHL player after high-profile NYC dinner

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Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is denying rumors of a romance with ex-NHL player Ron Duguay that sparked after the two were seen together in New York City. 

They’re "just friends" who "met through hockey," a source close to the former Republican vice presidential candidate told People magazine. 

Palin has frequently called herself a "hockey mom" while making the political rounds.

The pair grabbed dinner together in Manhattan last week while Palin was in the Big Apple for her defamation trial against The New York Times. The former governor made headlines because she was dining out just two days after testing positive for the coronavirus. The trial has been postponed until February. 

Sarah Palin and Ron Duguay were seen eating at a restaurant in New York City on Wednesday.  (Getty)

SARAH PALIN GETS ASSIST FROM EX-NHL STAR RON DUGUAY AFTER PESTERED AT NYC RESTAURANT

She also ate inside the same Upper East Side Italian restaurant on Saturday – before she tested positive – despite being unvaccinated. New York City law requires diners to provide proof of vaccination to dine in. 

The New York Post reported that Palin, 57, and Duguay, 64, have been dating since last year. 

Sarah Palin and Ron Duguay were seen eating together with friends at Elio's Italian restaurant on Manhattan's Upper East Side Wednesday.  (Google Maps)

Duguay, who played in the NHL from 1977 to 1989 for the New York Rangers and three other teams, was on hand when a photographer started filming them at the restaurant and asked if her dinner companions were comfortable dining with her while she had the virus. 

"Are you looking for trouble?" the imposing former athlete asked the photog, getting up. He then appeared to knock the man’s camera out of his hands as he asked if Duguay was going to "hurt" him. 

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Palin’s husband Todd filed for divorce after 31 years of marriage in 2019 and Duguay divorced his former supermodel wife Kim Alexis in 2013, according to People.