The Nashville Predators reportedly pushed to acquire Mitch Marner earlier this off-season, and now former teammate Ryan O’Reilly has admitted the truth.

This off-season has been a wild one thus far, and while Mitch Marner hasn’t yet been moved by the Maple Leafs, the expectation from many is that he will be traded at some point. That almost happened earlier this off-season according to reports, with the Nashville Predators highly interested in the star forward.

The team would ultimately go on to sign Brady Skjei, Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault in free agency, but before that, former Marner teammate Ryan O’Reilly has revealed the rumours were indeed true.

«Prior to the Predators spending a whack of dough on free agents (Steven) Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei, ex-Leaf Ryan O’Reilly did his very best to convince GM Barry Trotz to make a push and trade for Mitch Marner,” Kypreos said.

As we know, the Predators ended up with three of the top free agents in this years class, and will now look to chase a Stanley Cup in the crowded Western Conference, while Marner remains in Toronto. It’s unclear just how close things really came for Barry Trotz and the Predators, but this just shows how much interest there is in Marner league wide, so expect teams to look for a deal as the off-season rolls on.