TORONTO — The future of Hockey Night in Canada's theme song is in limbo.

The agency that represents the song's composer said Thursday that the CBC will no longer use the familiar hockey anthem, but the head of CBC Sports says the song hasn't been shelved yet.

"Our negotiations continue and if we can do a deal for the theme that's reasonable for both sides, we'll do it, it's a great theme," CBC Sports executive director Scott Moore said in a phone interview. "If we can't, then we have an alternate direction that we're excited about and that I think will create controversy and create excitement amongst Canadians.

"But certainly our first choice would be to keep the theme as it is."

The licence agreement CBC had with composer Dolores Claman ended with this year's Stanley Cup playoffs, which wrapped up Wednesday night.

John Ciccone, whose company Copyright Music & Visuals controls use of the song, said he was given a deadline of noon Wednesday to reach a new agreement. Ciccone said the CBC sent him an e-mail later in the afternoon telling him they would not renew the contract.

"We looked at it every different way we could," he said. "Whatever it takes, let's try and come up with something."

Moore said that he was scheduled to speak with Ciccone later Thursday.

It didn't take long for the public outcry to pick up steam at the possibility of a theme change. The story was a hot topic at the water cooler, on radio phone-in shows -- some politicians even weighed in with their reaction.

"I think it's great that people are that passionate about Hockey Night in Canada," Moore said. "We know that they are and we think that we have the best hockey broadcast in the country.

"It's a great tradition."

Moore said the alternate plan would be to launch a nationwide contest for musicians to submit themes for consideration.

"While we want to keep what is a great musical theme, we can't do it at all costs, we can't do it with a cloud hanging over our head," he said.

It cost the public broadcaster about $500 every time it used the theme, but Ciccone doesn't think the issue is money. One of the ideas Ciccone said he offered involved maintaining the same contract for two years, then increasing the rates by about 15 per cent, an increase he calls an industry standard.

Claman could not be reached for comment but released a statement on the website hockeytheme.com.

"I am saddened by the decision of the CBC to drop the Hockey Night in Canada theme after our lengthy history together. I nevertheless respect its right to move in a new direction."

Claman wrote the song in 1968 after it was commissioned by McLaren Advertising. The company was looking for something big, adventurous and brave to go with the broadcast.

Despite going through numerous rearrangements, the jingle has become one of Canada's most recognized tunes.

Claman has written about 2,000 jingles over her career. She is also credited with writing the Ontario theme "A Place To Stand," which she co-wrote with her husband Richard Morris in 1967.