Capital taking a shot at NHL hockey

North Americans living in Beijing might soon be able to cheer for their hometown ice hockey teams without leaving the capital, thanks to a "tentative agreement" between Beijing sports authority and the National Hockey League.

Under the proposed deal, the authority will host some regular-season games in the coming years, Sun Xuecai, the municipality's sports chief, said on Monday.

Sun said representatives of the NHL visited Beijing last week and both sides showed great interest in staging games from the world's most prestigious ice hockey league in the Chinese capital, which will co-host the 2022 Winter Olympics with Zhangjiakou.