WHAT THEY’VE DONE WITH THOSE GUYS IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME IS VERY IMPRESSIVE.

Another agent pointed out: If you sign, for example, with the Vancouver Canucks and are sent to the AHL, you are playing in Utica, N.Y., some 4,700 kilometres away. In Toronto, the trip from AHL to NHL is about a 10-minute drive. What Calle Rosen liked most about his involvement with Paliafito: “He told me the truth. We talked a lot about coming here, a lot about a lot of things like opportunity. I got to talk to Mike Babcock and Lou on the phone. There was a lot of open conversation the whole time. They made me feel like this was the best place for me. “It’s more than just making a player feel comfortable,” Milstein said. “What you appreciate about the Leafs is their team effort. It starts with Jim, and he lays the groundwork. They’re all on the same page there, delivering the right message, and they’re honest with the player.

“Think about it, when you can get three free-agent defencemen on one team, that’s an asset-free acquisition. It’s a bonus. You don’t have to give up anything in return. How often can you do that? To find three defencemen without having to give up even a draft pick? That’s big for a team.”

The Leafs have just one drafted defenceman, Morgan Rielly, on their NHL roster. Two, Jake Gardiner and Connor Carrick, came by trade. The other, veteran Ron Hainsey, came through NHL free agency.

“What they’ve done with those guys in a short period of time is very impressive,” said Diamond, of the three European defencemen.

“To me, it all starts with Lou,” said Rosen’s agent, Kurt Overhardt. “I’ve been dealing with Lou since 1992 and have done several deals with him and I have respect for the integrity he brings to the job.

“What I respect is the clear communication, whether it be Lou, Mike Babcock or Jim. Jim’s unbelievable at his job, he’s a great communicator and I think that’s an extension of what Lou and Brendan Shanahan have put in place. With Calle, they were proactive, communicative, transparent. To me, that’s the quality of the organization.” Nikita Zaitsev has shown his talent the past two seasons on the Toronto Maple Leafs’ blue line, a talent Leafs scout Jim Paliafito recognized early on.