A familiar face on the Avalanche bench these last 20 years won’t be seen any longer, starting next season. 

Avalanche head equipment manager Mark Miller apparently has retired, leaving a vacancy to an often overlooked but important job. Miller started with the Avs in 1998, working his way up to head equipment manager, which he held for the last 16 years.

Cliff Halstead is the current assistant equipment manager. He has been with the Avs from Day 1 of their existence. As a young kid, he was a stick boy for seven years before working his way up. He has a brother, Dusty, who was the head equipment manager for the Lake Erie Monsters.

Equipment manager is a demanding job. They are always packing and unpacking from city to city, always tending to some skate, always negotiating deals with suppliers and a million other little things.

The Avs say they have yet to fill the post.

Best wishes to “Millsy” in retirement.