It’s never over until the fat lady sings—or the lawyers get involved. CBC announced today in a media release that it has brought in Gord Kirke, a well-known sports and entertainment lawyer, to act as an intermediary in negotiations over CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada theme song.

Kirke will be trying to thrash out terms with Copyright Music & Visual, the Toronto agency that represents the song's composer, Vancouver's Dolores Claman, for an extension of the licence to use the iconic music, which has been used on the TV show since 1968.

“We feel this song is worth one last attempt to save,” Scott Moore, executive director of CBC Sports, said in the release. “Canadians are passionate about its association with Hockey Night in Canada.”

Kirke is a professor of sports and entertainment law at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University and the University of Toronto’s faculty of law. During his career, he has worked on behalf of artists and composers in the music industry. As well as representing professional athletes, Kirke is a member of the committee searching for a new general manager for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“I have been on both sides of negotiations with Gord, and I think he is a tremendous dealmaker,” Moore said. “His ability to negotiate integral resolutions in sticky situations is incredible. Gord is an ideal candidate to assist CBC and the theme song rights holders in brokering a positive agreement.”

“Canadian Hockey fans clearly identify this music with their enjoyment of CBC's Hockey Night in Canada,” Kirke was quoted in the release. “I welcome the opportunity of exploring means by which this can continue.”