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Never let it be said that Doug MacLean is a patient man.

The GM and now coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets came flying out of expansion with a veteran-laden roster and some spare bucks to spend in free agency and went after a winning record right off the bat.

PROJECTED CONFERENCE FINISH. . . 12th

STRENGTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blueline depth. It might sound strange to credit Columbus with good defensemen when they allowed 263 goals last season (second most in the NHL), but GM Doug MacLean really does have a veteran group that should be able to step in and play against anyone. WEAKNESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The forwards might actually be where the team defense starts to break down. This is a small group of speedsters who thinks offensively. The addition of checking line center Todd Marchant should help that. BEST OFFSEASON MOVE . . . . . . . . . . . Getting defenseman Darryl Sydor for close to nothing. They had to move Mike Sillinger to Phoenix as a part of a three-way deal, but the Blue Jackets benefited from the Stars' desire to get Teppo Numminen and the Coyotyes' desire to dump salary. WORST OFFSEASON MOVE . . . . . . . . . Would it have killed them to be more aggressive in their pursuit of Ray Whitney? With his move to Detroit, the Blue Jackets lost 76 points. Maybe they were more concerned with shedding the minus-26 Whitney carried last season. PLAYER TO WATCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Winger Rick Nash is the future of the franchise and they would love to see him use his power to score a few more goals. Nash had a decent rookie campaign with 17 tallies last season, but he's expected to play with Marchant, and the Jackets hope that will help. FANTASY FIX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Darryl Sydor. A fantasy afterthought while playing next to Sergei Zubov in Dallas, Sydor gets a chance to run the show in Columbus. Jaroslav Spacek was the only Blue Jackets defenseman to top 20 points last season, and prospect Rostislav Klesla has yet to emerge as a power-play weapon. That should mean plenty of time and shots for Sydor -- who has topped 33 points in each of the last seven seasons. -- Graham Hays AT A GLANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2003-04: Schedule | Roster 2002-03: Schedule/Results | Stats

When that approach didn't work, MacLean didn't strip his lineup down to a kids-only collection, a la Nashville, he went out and worked more deals and came up with veterans who might be a better fit.

And it just might work.

MacLean signed center Todd Marchant to a big free-agent contract and then made moves to add defenseman Darryl Sydor, solid role playing winger Trevor Letowski and backup goalie Fred Brathwaite. And just like that, the Blue Jackets are a better defensive team across the board.

That'll be key this season as Columbus looks to significantly lower the 263 goals it allowed last season (ranking second to last in the league).

MacLean took over as coach in mid-stream last year after he fired Dave King and has decided to remain in that position. He has experience in coaching good team defense (he took Florida to the Stanley Cup finals in 1996), and he will probably try to get the Blue Jackets to follow some of those same tenets.

However, he also has to coach the talent he has, and this group of forwards is probably less gritty and more speedy that the group he had in Florida. Because of that, you could see a team that doesn't mind taking chances, but tries to limit the really risky ones.

So are the playoffs a realistic dream for the Blue Jackets? Sure. Anaheim and Minnesota showed last season that they could make the transition, and each did it by making smart moves with a smart plan for a finished product. This summer's work by MacLean followed right in those footsteps.

Losing Ray Whitney will hurt. He registered 24 goals and 52 assists and was a solid complement to Andrew Cassels and Geoff Sanderson. Still, there seems to be plenty of skill in the Blue Jackets' lineup, and players like Rick Nash and David Vyrborny should be able to soak up some of the 21 minutes a game that Whitney was playing. Vryborny averaged 16:20 in ice time last season, while Nash was on the ice for just 13:56 a game.

One of the real interesting developments to watch this season will be the chemistry between Marchant and Nash. The Blue Jackets see Marchant as a sort of Michael Peca-type -- a guy who will check the other team's best player but also be expected to add offense and energy. Marchant showed he could embrace that role last season in Edmonton (20 goals, 40 assists) and Nash should benefit from the opportunity to play with him. If this works as it has on other teams, Marchant and Nash (and probably Lasse Pirjeta) will try to create their offense on the counter-attack while playing against top line skill players who might be a little weak defensively.

The rest of the depth scoring will have to come from a collection of grinders. However, a healthy Espen Knutsen centering the third line could indeed create problems for opposing coaches.

Smart forward play also has to be the key to the Blue Jackets' penalty kill. Columbus handed out a league-high 409 opportunities last season and MacLean will obviously want to bring that number down.

With the addition of Sydor ($3.5 million) to the salaries of Luke Richardson ($2.75 million), Scott Lachance ($2.0 million) and Jaroslav Spacek ($1.7 million), this is not a cheap defense. And MacLean is hoping it doesn't play like one.

The simple fact is blossoming goaltender Marc Denis needs all the support he can get and MacLean is betting on this group of solid veterans to provide it. Richardson is the shut-down leader and is helping partner Spacek adjust to that same role.

Sydor will be paired with Rostislav Klesla, 21, and those two will create a little more of the offense out of the back end. The good thing about the acquisition of Sydor is that he's not all about offense. He was a solid two-way defenseman in Dallas and he should provide a sturdy anchor for Klesla to work from. Lachance will tie down the third pair (likely with Duvie Wescott) giving the Blue Jackets depth throughout their lineup.

Look for Sydor to take the place of Whitney at the point on the power play. He's a steady performer in that role who probably will ask Klesla to share a good deal of the puck-handling burdens.

Denis is a very interesting player. His save percentages have been improving, but he still gets lit up at times. He had a 3.11 GAA two seasons ago and a 3.09 last season. If Columbus wants to fight for a playoff spot, that number has to get down into the mid-2.00s or lower. At age 25, he's ready to take the next step, and the best thing for him might be taking a step back. Denis played in 77 games last season, a total of 4,511 minutes. Those numbers were both league highs and his minutes were 500 more than anybody outside of New Jersey's Martin Brodeur (4,374).

The kid needs a break and a mentor, and he'll get both in Fred Brathwaite. The little (5-foot-7, 175) journeyman has proved in Edmonton, Calgary and St. Louis that he can come up big time at just the right time. Of course, he's also proved vulnerable, and that's why he's on his fourth NHL team (with a couple of minor league stops in between).

Still, he's the perfect complement to Denis and quite possibly the smartest move MacLean made all summer -- and that's saying something.

Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News is a frequent contributor to ESPN.com.