Olympic MVP  Ryan Miller

Simply put, silver medalist Ryan Miller is the league's most valuable player and deserves the Hart trophy.

Miller, named MVP of the Olympic tournament after a smashing performance that gave his team an opportunity to win gold, has delivered for his Sabres throughout the regular season, and occupies a lofty position at each major statistical category for goaltenders:

Record: 30-14-7

Goals Against: Miller stands second - 2.16GAA (best amongst regular netminders; Tuukka Rask stands first at 2.08, but has played 23 fewer games than Miller).

Wins: Miller is fifth, with 30 wins.

Save Percentage: Miller stands second with a .930SV% (Tomas Vokoun 1st at .931).

Shutouts: Miller is third, with five shutouts (two pairs of goalies are tied with 6 and 7).

Total saves: Miller is fourth, with 1486.

As for his team, the Buffalo Sabres stand just 14th overall in goals for, with 2.72 per game. In terms of shots against, the Sabres occupy a below-average position, 24th overall, giving up 31.6 shots per contest.

Despite this, the team has spent most of the season atop the Eastern Conference standings with the Capitals and Devils. Currently fifth in the conference with 75 points, the Sabres are primed to overtake the Senators, who sit atop the Northeast division (and third in the East) with 76 points, but Ottawa has played three more games than Miller's Sabres.

To dominate save percentage and goals-against throughout the season amidst a very capable crop of NHL goalies is remarkable. To win 30 games in 52 tries with an above-average Sabres team is notable.

Without Miller, the Sabres are a solid 6th-10th place club, one whose big names haven't come through often enough.

Jason Pominville, all $5.5M per of him, finally came alive after New Year's Day, but has only managed 16 goals. Derek Roy ($3.5M), the heir to Daniel Briere's lofty top-line center position, is also stuck on 16. Good, but not great numbers. Tomas Vanek, who earns $6.4M per, has a respectable 18, but for a wing expected to produce 35+, he's behind schedule, too. Only Tim Connolly has earned his dough of late.

With Miller in net--and imagine how confident Miller will be after his Olympic performance--the Sabres are a good bet to return to the conference finals for the first time since back-to-back appearances in 2006 and 2007.

The Sabres, to their credit, have employed four players who have won the Vezina trophy a total of eight times.  Bob Sauve and Don Edwards shared the prize in 1979-80; Tom Barrasso won the Calder and Vezina in 1983-84. Dominik Hasek won the trophy six times for Buffalo from 1994-2001.  If the writers do their job from their lofty perches in the press boxes, Miller should be a shoo-in to become the fifth Vezina winner in club history.

As for the Hart, Hasek won it twice for doing the same exact thing that Miller is doing now: Lift a decent club into contention and have spectacular stats to back up his Hart Trophy argument.

Surely, the Hart is reserved for the Ovechkin- and Crosby-types, those who dominate offensively, you say? Most of the time, true, but not always.

Miller deserves the Hart far more than Jose Theodore did when he edged Jarome Iginla years ago, and is at least as deserving as Dominik Hasek was in 1997 and 1998.

The only thing that would drop Miller from Hart contention would be if the Sabres fall in the standings and have to scrape just to make the postseason, or, if Miller’s performances dip, which is not likely.

It might not count in the NHL, but his Olympic MVP performance will dwarf whatever set of numbers the NHL distributes when the regular season ends.

Just roll the Olympic tape if you need proof.