The quotable Darryl Sutter, 2012

Darryl Sutter’s arrival as Kings coach in mid-December gave the Kings a boost and it certainly livened things up in the media sessions. Terry Murray, almost always, was as kind and patient as a coach could be. He would stand and thoughtfully answer questions until reporters got everything they needed. Sutter can be hit and miss, and I’ve likened it to fishing. As a reporter covering Sutter, you might stand there for a while, your proverbial line in the water, and catch nothing. Every once in a while, though, you’ll land a big one. To that end, I’ve gone through the posts and culled what I believe to be the most entertaining Sutter quotes of the season. Here’s a countdown of the top 20, followed by some “honorable-mention’’ picks…

20. On Dustin Penner’s injury: “He has a sore back. It’s that old line. `I’ve got a weak back.’ `When did it happen?’ `About a week back.’’’ (Jan. 7)

19. “The only time there is noise taken out of the building is when they play `Jeopardy’ at Staples. I wish they wouldn’t do it. I don’t get that one. If you want Jeopardy, stay home and watch Jeopardy. If I’m paying 500 bucks, I don’t want to be watching Jeopardy. That’s a fact.’’ — on loud crowds. (May 27)

18. “I guess I don’t get to see the cows for a while.’’ — on becoming Kings coach. (Dec. 21)

17. “You don’t get nothing for three.’’ — after taking a 3-0 series lead on Vancouver. (April 15)

16. “We feel fortunate they could fit us into their schedule tonight. … All you have to do is listen to everything. You can’t imagine how they could lose a game again.’’ — on facing Vancouver. (March 26)

15. On going on walks and adjusting to Los Angeles drivers who don’t stop for pedestrians: “That’s true. It’s awesome. Bump and run.’’ (April 20)

14. At the championship rally: “Everybody enjoy it, and stay out of trouble.’’ (June 14)

13. “I’m not a philosopher or Nostradamus or nothing.’’ — on the tight playoff race. (March 31)

12. “There was a lot of contact when he was out there. Boom. Jeez.’’ — on Dustin Brown’s game. (May 3)

11. “I saw it live and in Technicolor. It was good on both.’’ — on Dustin Brown’s Game 3 hit on Henrik Sedin. (April 16)

10. “What are you going to do? If they’re leaking oil, they give them four minutes.’’ — on the Kings getting called for a four-minute high-sticking penalty. (April 2)

9. “There ain’t no weak sisters.’’ — on the Western Conference playoff race. (March 4)

8. On Simon Gagne’s recovery: “I don’t even know if he’s in North America now.’’ (April 19)

7. On the officials not seeing Ryane Clowe play the puck from the bench: “Well, obviously they didn’t. I couldn’t text them or anything.’’ (April 5)

6. “We get 60 hours of rest before our next game, as long as nobody is in that bike race.’’ — on preparing for the next game and the Tour of California. (May 17)

5. “This isn’t baseball.’’ — on his policy of not announcing his starting goalie. (Dec. 23)

4. “They can wear wigs and sunglasses. I don’t care, as long as they’re ready.’’ — on whether NHL players should wear helmets in warmups. (Jan. 19)

3. “Tonight is over, and we move. It’s like the sign at the airport. Park and ride.’’ — on starting a road trip. (March 3)

2. “They haven’t lost at home since Christ was a child.’’ — on playing at Nashville. (March 3)

1. “Nobody died, and it’s a hard-working point for our team.’’ — after an overtime loss to the New York Islanders. (Feb. 11)

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HONORABLE MENTION

— “(I)t’s tough to make the first pass when your friggin’ (butt) is up in the air, from getting knocked on it.’’ — on the Kings struggling to get the puck out of the zone (Feb. 3).

— “Torres? He’s half a second late, a lot.’’ — on Raffi Torres’ hit on Colin Fraser (Feb. 17).

— “I don’t think Mike Smith and Anze Kopitar is going to go down as one we’re going to go to Vegas for. Heck, the way they talked about it afterward, it sounded like they were buddies. I thought maybe there was something else going on there. They were calling each other by their nicknames.’’ — on the rough stuff between the Kings and Phoenix Coyotes (Feb. 20).

— On the Calgary-Edmonton rivalry: “Heck, when I first went there, our captain lived in Edmonton in the summer and their captain lived in Calgary. Where was the rivalry? You’ve got tougher traffic than me?’’ (March 16).

— “He moved his feet, shot on the fly. He looked like Mark Messier.’’ — on a shot by Dustin Penner (March 20).

— On Ryane Clowe playing the puck from the bench: “What do you think my thoughts are? You can’t call too many men on the ice. What do you call, too many sticks?’’ (April 5).

— On Drew Doughty’s Bridgestone commercial: “I told him I need tires for my tractor. Hey, it might mean the difference of two or three minutes in a game.’’ (April 15).

— “(He) looks slow and he looks behind, and (he is) borderline in the way.’’ — on Scott Parse’s return to practice (April 20).

— On playing afternoon games: “I just fold my pajamas, and that’s it. … We played an afternoon game and lost 1-0 Columbus or somebody. It was a pajama party.’’ (May 5).

— “When I steal their ties, I tell them they’ve got $800 ties on, and $300 suits.’’ — on borrowing items of clothing from players (May 22).