Daily Cupcakes - March 2nd, 2012

Want to know what Colorado Avalanche 's Mike Connolly was doing when he got the call that he was traded to the Avalanche organization?He was about to buy a car. Here are some quotes from Mike.

"But I was on my way to the Colorado organization. I couldn’t have been happier about an organization to go to. It’s a young organization that’s always competitive in a tough Western Conference, and they have a lot of good young players," he added.

But today’s information-craving society and the magnifying glass that hovers over the NHL’s trade deadline become more and more zoomed-in with each passing season. For Connolly, a part of a national championship at Minnesota-Duluth last season, the newest experience was in becoming -- even if just for a couple hours -- part of a cross-continental topic of conversation in television, radio and social media forums.

"First time for that!" Connolly said about his initial experience with "trending" on trade deadline day. "Having your name up there on a deal is something you don’t look to experience, but at a young age, it’s something that you can grow from. If that’s what I’ve got to do to get famous on NHL Network, then I guess that’s what it takes."

The Ottawa Senators are worried that a removal of a tax benefit will lead to the demise of the franchise.

But the Senators, which operate in a smaller market than the Toronto Maple Leafs, can’t survive without the tax deduction, team president Cyril Leeder said.

"We have a sizable portion of our operation that’s run based on corporate support for suites and for tickets," he said. "So if we had a 10-per-cent to 20-per-cent loss of that business, we would be out of business."

Corporations lease 120 of the 150 luxury suites at Ottawa’s Scotiabank Place, he said. About half of their season-ticket holders – who take up 11,000 of the arena’s 19,000 seats – are businesses.

And there’s no waiting list for suites or season tickets, he said. If someone pulls out, there’s no one waiting in the wings to take their place.

Good news on the Jean Beliveau front!

Montreal Canadiens icon Jean Beliveau is making encouraging progress at Montreal General Hospital following a stroke he suffered at home Monday evening.

Elise Beliveau, the wife of the 80-year-old Hall of Famer, said Thursday afternoon that her husband is speaking, laughing and regaining some strength while he undergoes tests. Beliveau is still under close observation by specialists.

Beliveau was a patient at the General last June for endovascular surgery to repair abdominal aneurysms.

Alexander Ovechkin can be called a lot of things, but I don't think a small man is one of those.

Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin has always played the game of hockey like a rampaging linebacker.

At one point he even had the weight to back that up.

In an interview on ESPN this week, Capitals general manager George McPhee revealed that the six-foot-two winger skated at a hefty 242 pounds during one point.

"I think the progression in his weights, he came in 218, 224, 232, 237, 242," McPhee said to ESPN. "He played at 242 once, and he got suspended for hitting a few people. And he was crushing guys, and he loved crushing guys, and we said you know what, (former coach Bruce Boudreau) always thought he was a better player at about 227. And you can see it when he’s moving out there, he’s flying."