Jessica Campbell will not return as the Kraken assistant, sources say

Jessica Campbell is not coming back Seattle Kraken Bench next season, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.

Campbell’s contract expires this summer, and the Kraken are helping their assistant coach explore new opportunities as he receives interest from across the league, sources said.

Campbell made NHL history in 2024 when Kraken promoted her to assistant coach, becoming the first woman in league history to hold a full-time, on-the-bench role.

Kraken has also left the door open to a return to the organization, as he 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 he ran the power play and worked closely with the 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 had regular one-on-one sessions Matty Benniers, Shane Wright And kapo kakkoWho had a career year after being traded to the Kraken in December.

Campbell built his coaching resume through skating and skill development, running his own program and training NHL players in the offseason before joining Seattle’s system. She also worked for the Nürnberg Ice Tigers of Germany’s Deutsche Eischkeliger and was an assistant coach for Germany at the 2022 IIHF Men’s World Championship — becoming the first woman on the men’s national team coaching staff at the event.

Campbell is from Rocanville, Saskatchewan. She is a former captain at Cornell University and played for the Canadian Women’s Hockey League and 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 before last season. Seattle made the Stanley Cup playoffs once in 2023, which led team CEO Todd Leiwey to give an emotional press conference earlier this month. While the coaching staff was seen as a bright spot last season, Liweke acknowledged the challenges the franchise faced in building a team.

“This is not acceptable,” Leiweck said, “and we are committed to fixing it.”