"We kept a lot of the foundation we had from last year, and the new faces are guys who have been in the playoffs before, so hopefully they can help get us to the next level.
Mittelstadt acknowledged the highs and lows of last season, which included a 10-game winning streak before a sixth-place finish in the Atlantic Division, but one the Sabres can build off this season.
"The start and the winning streak gave us high hopes," he said. "I think everyone knew you're not going to win 10 games in a row many times, but we hoped we'd hang on for a few games. We lost a lot of one-goal games, a lot of overtime games, and it came back to haunt us.
"Playoffs were the goal last year and they obviously are the goal again this year. I think with consistency, a lot of good changes, a lot of good veteran guys and a lot of new voices should help us out."