The NHL and the NHL Players' Association will announce next week that the league will travel to China for two preseason games between the Kings and Canucks next fall.

Officials from the league and players' association including NHL commissioner Gary Bettman will formally announce the games, first reported by ESPN in early February, at the LeSports Center in Beijing on Thursday.

It's expected the teams will play two games in mid- to late September before the start of the 2017-18 NHL season. One game would be held in Beijing, the site of the 2022 Olympics, with the other likely in Shanghai.