Toronto Maple Leafs have reportedly hired one of Crosby's most loyal trainers

The Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly bringing an interesting name aboard to their training staff. 

As a summer of change continues for the Leafs, the team has reportedly brought aboard Andy O'Brien, who is best known as being one of Sidney Crosby's longest-tenured personal trainers. The veteran strength and conditioning coach has been working with the Pittsburgh Penguins captain since he was just 13-years old. 

Now, it appears, he will join a Maple Leafs team looking to regain their prominence in the Eastern Conference this upcoming season. The Toronto Sun's Steve Simmons reported the hiring on Saturday. 

Maple Leafs have hired Sidney Crosby's longtime trainer, Andy O'Brien, as their new strength and conditioning coach. An irony here: O'Brien used to Hayley Wickenheiser's trainer back in the day.

— Steve Simmons (@simmonssteve) August 1, 2026

O'Brien has yet to be officially announced to the Leafs and is not currently listed on the team's staff list on their website. When the hiring becomes official, he will join a team that already includes head strength and conditioning coach Louis Rojas, as well as assistant strength and conditioning coaches Artie Hairston and Trevor Bartoli. 

It remains to be seen if there are any departures coming from that staff to make room for O'Brien, or if he'll simply slide into another role. 

As Simmons pointed out, there is also a bit of irony in the hiring, as O'Brien has also worked with Hayley Wickenheiser, who was let go from the organization earlier this summer after serving as an assistant GM for the past four seasons. 

The Leafs have seen wholesale changes off the ice this summer, with a new GM in John Chayka, Mats Sundin returning in a front office role, a new head coach with Jim Hiller, and several other front office shuffles. 

Will those changes result in better on-ice results? We'll have to wait and see when the season gets underway in September.