AceShowbiz -

Another major character has left "Grey's Anatomy". Following the fatal plane crash in last season's finale, [SPOILER ALERT!] Mark Sloane a.k.a. McSteamy (Eric Dane) died in the season 9 premiere after he went into a coma for 30 days.

Prior to Mark, Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh) was killed in the plane crash and Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) moved to another hospital. According to some insiders, these three departures were results of a budget cut.

"Some of the cuts were easy, and some weren't," one source tells E! Online. While Leigh wanted to leave the drama series and Raver came to a mutual decision with creator Shonda Rhimes, Dane reportedly didn't ask to leave. Still other sources says Rhimes has "very legitimate reasons" for killing off Dane.

Dane's departure was announced in July this year. Rhimes said at the time that she and Dane "did not come to this decision lightly. But after much consideration and conversations, he and I have decided that this is the right time for his storyline to end."

Mark's fate on the show was teased before the new season kick-off with two pictures, which featured the character lying on a hospital bed. Also experiencing a tragic twist in the said outing is Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) who had to have her leg amputated.