Courtesy Toronto Globe & Mail

(March 19 2009) The most popular member of the Florida Panthers organization might not be high-scoring forward David Booth or defenceman Jay Bouwmeester, who wants to sign his next contract somewhere else this summer.

It might be former Panthers defenceman Randy Moller — believed to the first ex-NHL player to become a play-by-play man. The 45-year-old native of Red Deer, Alta., has the non-traditional hockey market of South Florida buzzing with his entertaining radio broadcasts, in which he interjects phrases from popular movies or lyrics from songs in the 1980s.

For example, the Panthers are at home to the visiting the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight, and should Booth score a goal, Moller might call the play by yelling, "Ma, the meatloaf!" — a reference to a line from the movie Wedding Crashers.

Or if Bouwmeester busts a move for another score, Moller might scream, "Mongo like candy," alluding to the classic Mel Brooks flick, Blazing Saddles. There's also "upstairs where Mrs. Moller keeps the peanut butter," or "Hey Reg, get the power play going," a la Slap Shot.

"We're having a lot of fun," said Moller, in his second year calling NHL games after nine seasons as the team's radio colour analyst. "We're not in a traditional hockey market. We can't afford to do the straight play-by-play you would find in those markets. We need to be entertaining, and the response has been great."

The local ratings have skyrocketed almost 300 per cent, according to Moller. He also has become a YouTube.com sensation and a regular guest on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, a popular morning program on Miami sports radio.

When Moller appears on the Le Batard show, listeners are invited to e-mail suggestions of phrases or lyrics Moller could use for future broadcasts.

His success behind a microphone is something he never imagined. Like some athletes, when Moller's 815-game NHL career with the Quebec Nordiques, New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres and the Panthers concluded, he moved into the broadcast booth as an analyst and occasional studio host.

He also became the Panthers vice-president of broadcasting and president of the team's alumni association. Two years ago, when Panthers television play-by-play man Dave Strader took off to call games for the Phoenix Coyotes, there was a hole to fill.

So the Panthers moved radio voice Steve Goldstein into the TV role and Moller was asked if he was interested in calling the games. He accepted the challenge. He listened to 250 game tapes and took a broadcasting course.

He and his new partner, former Panthers forward Bill Lindsay, practised during four games in the 2007 exhibition schedule and now, as the Panthers take a run at a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2000, Moller's popularity has taken off.

Even in his playing days, Moller was a character. On the team bus with the Sabres, he would imitate broadcaster Rick Jeanneret, and with the Rangers it was Marv Albert.

"I was like a lot of kids growing up in Canada. When I played road hockey I was the guy also calling the play, imitating announcers," said Moller, whose older brother, Mike, played for the Sabres and Edmonton Oilers. The two were teammates on the gold medal-winning 1982 Canadian junior team.

"I have the utmost respect for the guys I grew up listening to, like Bob Cole, Danny Gallivan and Dick Irvin, and Rod Phillips in Edmonton and Peter Maher in Calgary," Moller said.

"But I have to be different. My broadcasts tie in a lot of stuff that I think the listeners will get a kick out of."