Ducks' Cutter Gauthier extends scoring heater with another hat trick in win over Penguins

Ducks' young guns are proving they are worth the money

The Ducks faced a tough offseason, needing to extend young stars, Leo Carlsson and Gauthier. An offer sheet from the Flyers forced the Ducks to sign Carlsson to a five-year, $90M deal, which was the richest in the league at the time. It also left GM Pat Verbeek to scramble and maneuver to lock down Gauthier as well, virtually evaporating Anaheim's cap space.

The deals are already paying off in spades.

While Gauthier's hot streak won't last forever, it has propelled him to third in the NHL in goals with 15, just one behind the Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl and the Minnesota Wild's Kirill Kaprizov. It also proves to the organization that they could have a future Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy winner under its roof.

Carlsson, who didn't tally any points on Sunday, is still holding his own as well. His 26 points are tied for seventh in the league, another good early return on its investment.

They might already have their next dynamic duo in Gauthier and Carlsson, playing in the shadows of Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya and Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.

The Ducks seem to be firing on all cylinders offensively, and didn't even need to break out the "Flying V" while debuting their Hometown Remix uniforms based on the 1992 movie "The Mighty Ducks" to do so.

If the team can figure out its defensive and goaltending woes — they have surrendered the fourth-most goals in the league so far — this might be a core that could rule the Pacific and the West for years to come.