Jessica Campbell Won't Return to Seattle Kraken Bench Next Season

Jessica Campbell will not return to the Seattle Kraken bench next season, sources told ESPN on Wednesday. Campbell's contract is expiring this summer, and the Kraken are supporting their assistant coach in exploring new opportunities as she receives interest across the league, sources said. Campbell made NHL history in 2024 when the Kraken promoted her to assistant coach, becoming the first woman to hold a full-time, on-the-bench role in league history. The Kraken have also left the door open to her returning to the organization, as she had a positive experience with the team, sources said. Campbell, 33, joined Seattle after two seasons with their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, where she ran the power play and worked closely with forwards as the team reached back-to-back Calder Cup Finals. Campbell was instrumental in the development of Ty Kartye, who went from undrafted to AHL Rookie of the Year and is now an NHL regular. In the NHL, Campbell regularly had one-on-one sessions with Matty Beniers, Shane Wright and Kaapo Kakko, who had a career year after his trade to the Kraken in December. Campbell built her coaching resume through skating and skills development, running her own program and training NHL players in the offseason before joining Seattle's system. She has also worked for the Nurnberg Ice Tigers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in Germany, and was an assistant coach for Germany at the 2022 IIHF Men's World Championship -- becoming the first woman on the coaching staff of a men's national team at the event. Campbell is a native of Rocanville, Saskatchewan. She is a former captain at Cornell University and played in the Canadian Women's Hockey League and for the Canadian national team. Seattle entered the NHL as an expansion franchise in 2021 and is still establishing stability early in its existence. The team is already on its third head coach as Lane Lambert replaced Dan Bylsma ahead of last season. Seattle has made the Stanley Cup playoffs once, in 2023, which led team CEO Tod Leiweke to give an impassioned press conference earlier this month. While the coaching staff last season was viewed as a bright spot, Leiweke recognized the challenges the franchise has faced in building a team. "It's not acceptable," Leiweke said, "and we're committed to fixing it."