Colorado Avalanche Players Mourn Derek Shepherd

Erik Johnson, (Owen Hunt and Christina Yang)

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson is a great leader on the team. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

“That Derek Shepherd played a hell of a game.”

Well, he didn’t play so much as operate…

“You know, you’ve got to play through the pain until you can’t. This game… it’s 80 percent mental and 20 percent physical. If you’re not 100 percent focused, you’re in trouble.”

Ah… ok. So… Derek Shepherd’s head wasn’t in the game?

“You can’t get fancy. You’ve got to shoot the puck, maybe get an ugly goal. Same thing with brain surgery.”

Ugly brain surgery?

“You know, you’ve got to play with speed. Strength is great, but you’ve got to move fast and see everything as it goes down.”

Ok… that sort of sounds like brain surgery…

“Derek Shepherd — it’s very frustrating when you can’t be in the game. ”

Ok, about that time we realized that, between horse racing, his pack of dogs and an intense training regimen with famed trainer Andy O’Brien, Erik Johnson might not really have much time to watch Grey’s Anatomy.

Never mind. Let’s hear what the captain, Gabriel Landeskog — Derek Shepherd himself in my original post — had to say about McDreamy’s death.