Canada will likely drop the vaccine requirement for people who enter Canada by the end of September, an official familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Canada, like the United States, requires all people to be vaccinated when entering the country. It is not immediately known whether the U.S. will make a similar move by Sept. 30.

The official said that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau needs to give final sign off on it but that the government will likely be dropping the requirement as well as ending random COVID-19 testing at airports. Filling out information in the unpopular ArriveCan app will also no longer be required.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Unvaccinated professional athletes like Major League Baseball players would be allowed to play in Toronto in the playoffs should the Blue Jays make the postseason. They currently are not allowed to cross the border into Canada.

The lifting of the mandate would also allow unvaccinated NBA players to travel to Toronto to play the Raptors.

When new populist Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre was announced as the party’s leader in Ottawa this month, the loudest cheer he got from supporters was when he said he would get rid of the ArriveCan app.

NHL

Avs’ MacKinnon now NHL’s highest-paid player >> The Colorado Avalanche are making Nathan MacKinnon the highest-paid player in the NHL’s salary cap era.

MacKinnon, who just turned 27 earlier this month, signed an eight-year contract worth $100.8 million, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team did not announce terms of the contract.

His new $12.6 million salary cap hit that goes into effect at the start of the 2023-24 season surpasses Connor McDavid’s $12.5 million as the highest in the league. McDavid’s $100 million, eight-year deal with the Edmonton Oilers signed in 2017 was the previous record for the highest annual cap hit since the system went into place in 2005.

The only richer deals than MacKinnon’s in NHL history are Alex Ovechkin’s $124 million, 13-year contract with Washington, Shea Weber’s $110 million, 14-year contract with Nashville and Sidney Crosby’s $104.4 million, 12-year contract with Pittsburgh. The collective bargaining agreement has since limited contract lengths to eight years for a players re-signing with his own team and seven for free agents.

MacKinnon agreed to the deal with training camp about to start. It’s been a short offseason for MacKinnon and the Avalanche after they captured their first Stanley Cup title since 2001.

MacKinnon, the top overall pick in the 2013 draft, has been a finalist for the Hart Trophy in three of the last five seasons (‘17-18, ‘18-19, ’20-21). He has 242 career goals and 406 assists — the most of anyone from his draft class.

Subban announces retirement >> Defenseman P.K. Subban announced his retirement from the NHL following 13 seasons playing for the Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators and New Jersey Devils.

The 33-year-old former Norris Trophy winner shared the news on social media.

Subban, who is from Toronto, registered 115 goals and 467 points in 824 regular-season games. The 43rd overall pick at the 2007 NHL draft added 62 points (18 goals, 44 assists) in 96 postseason games. He won the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman in 2013 with Montreal.

Defenseman Chara, 45, retires as Bruin >> Zdeno Chara announced his retirement after playing 21 seasons in the NHL and captaining the Boston Bruins to the Stanley Cup in 2011.

The 6-foot-9 defenseman from Slovakia is calling it a career at age 45. He returned to TD Garden in Boston to make that announcement two years after splitting with the Bruins following 14 seasons.

Chara won the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman in 2009 and also spent time with the Islanders, Senators and Capitals. Chara scored 237 goals and added 523 assists for 750 points in 1,880 regular-season and playoff games.

His 1,680 regular-season games played is a record for defenseman.

NBA

Edwards fined $40K for homophobic remark >> Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards was fined $40,000 by the NBA for homophobic comments he made on social media.

The league announced the punishment for Edwards’ use of “offensive and derogatory language” in a since-deleted Instagram video he later apologized for.

Edwards recorded a group of men on a sidewalk from a vehicle he was inside and could be heard in making a disparaging, profane comment about what he assumed to be their sexual orientation. He posted an apology on Twitter soon after, and the Timberwolves issued a statement reprimanding their young star

The first overall pick in the 2020 draft, Edwards was Minnesota’s second-leading scorer last season with an average of 21.3 points per game.

Little League

Family sues Little League over bunk bed fall >> A Utah boy who suffered a serious head injury after falling from a bunk bed during last month’s Little League World Series in Pennsylvania has returned home from the hospital and his family is suing the league and the company that made the bed.

Easton Oliverson, 12, of Saint George, Utah, suffered a skull fracture and bleeding on the brain in the Aug. 15 fall at a players dormitory in Williamsport. He has since had three operations and battled a staph infection, the family’s lawyer, Ken Fulginiti, said.

“He’s not doing well. The more recent development, after a third craniotomy, is seizures. It’s been a long road,” Fulginiti said. Easton had been hospitalized in Pennsylvania and Utah before his discharge last week, he said.

The negligence lawsuit, filed by Jace and Nancy Oliverson on Friday in Philadelphia, said there was no railing on the top bunk. Neither Little League International nor Savoy Contract Furniture of Williamsport immediately responded to messages seeking comment.

Easton, a pitcher and outfielder with the Snow Canyon team from southwestern Utah, fell in his sleep, Fulginiti said. The lawsuit seeks more than $50,000 for the boy’s care, along with punitive damages.