Maple Leafs hire Saginaw Spirit GM Jim Paliafito as director of player evaluation

He's not as big a name as Mike Babcock, but the Toronto Maple Leafs have made another addition to their front office.

The OHL's Saginaw Spirit confirmed Thursday that their general manager Jim Paliafito has been hired by the Maple Leafs to serve as the club's director of player evaluation.

The Leafs also announced the hiring of Lindsay Hofford as an amateur scout.

Sportsnet's Mike Johnston has more on Paliafito:

The Milwaukee native has been with the Spirit since 2009 when he joined the organization as head scout. He became assistant GM of the Spirit in 2010 before being promoted to full-time GM in late 2011. This past December, Paliafito signed a contract extension with the Spirit through the 2015-2016 season, but had the Spirit's blessing to move onto the NHL.

The Spirit finished the 2014-15 season with a record of 29-36-2-1 and had an early exit in the postseason.