I find significant improvements in hockey equipment to be quite infrequent. I stopped playing competitively a dozen years ago and my gear from then was not much worse than what you can get now. Sticks rapidly improved in function and durability the first handful of years when one pieces came out, but the last half a dozen of years there hasn't been much improvement. I've heard helmets have improved, but for no check, I don't really care about that. Stuff is lighter, but often trivially so. Seems most yearly updates are a color change and "upgrade" from SUPER ProTec Foam to ELITE ProTec Foam!
So in summary, I don't see much reason to upgrade when you get your gear dialed in. And even playing pretty regularly most stuff should last a few years.
I do get excited by certain older gear in good shape. Old Eagle gloves, CCM HT2 helmet that must be paired with a Jofa 381 cage (currently looking for a black one, much harder to find than white), NOS righty senior replacement stick blades in an acceptable curve (seems like they are as rare as hen's teeth these days), game worn or practice jerseys from the '90's, etc.