nhl-data
NHL data via ESPN public endpoints and the official NHL API — scores, standings, rosters, schedules, game summaries, injuries, futures, leaders, and news, plus an analytics backend: play-by-play with on-ice coordinates, cross-league career rows, skater/goalie leaders, and history to 1917. Zero config, no API keys. Use when: user asks about NHL scores, standings, team rosters, schedules, game stats, box scores, play-by-play, injuries, transactions, betting futures, team/player statistics, NHL news, shot locations, career stats, skater/goalie leaders, or historical NHL seasons. Don't use when: user asks about other hockey leagues (AHL, KHL, college hockey). For other sports use: nfl-data (NFL), nba-data (NBA), wnba-data (WNBA), mlb-data (MLB), football-data (soccer), tennis-data (tennis), golf-data (golf), cricket-data (cricket), cfb-data (college football), cbb-data (college basketball), fastf1 (F1). For betting odds use polymarket or kalshi. For news use sports-news.
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Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/machina-sports/sports-skills --skill nhl-data- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads nhl-data automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
NHL Data
Before writing queries, consult references/api-reference.md for endpoints, ID conventions, and data shapes.
Setup
Before first use, check if the CLI is available:
which sports-skills || pip install sports-skills
If pip install fails with a Python version error, the package requires Python 3.10+. Find a compatible Python:
python3 --version # check version
# If < 3.10, try: python3.12 -m pip install sports-skills
# On macOS with Homebrew: /opt/homebrew/bin/python3.12 -m pip install sports-skills
No API keys required.
Quick Start
Prefer the CLI — it avoids Python import path issues:
sports-skills nhl get_scoreboard
sports-skills nhl get_standings --season=2025
sports-skills nhl get_teams
CRITICAL: Before Any Query
CRITICAL: Before calling any data endpoint, verify:
- Season year is derived from the system prompt's
currentDate— never hardcoded. - If only a team name is provided, call
get_teamsto resolve the team ID before using team-specific commands.
Choosing the Season
Derive the current year from the system prompt's date (e.g., currentDate: 2026-02-18 → current year is 2026).
- If the user specifies a season, use it as-is.
- If the user says "current", "this season", or doesn't specify: The NHL season runs October–June. If the current month is October–December, the active season year matches the current year. If January–June, the active season started the previous calendar year (use that year as the season).
- Example: Current date is February 2026 → active season started October 2025 → use season
2025.
Commands
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
get_scoreboard | Live/recent NHL scores |
get_standings | Standings by conference and division |
get_teams | All NHL teams |
get_team_roster | Full roster for a team |
get_team_schedule | Schedule for a specific team |
get_game_summary | Detailed box score and scoring plays |
get_leaders | NHL statistical leaders |
get_news | NHL news articles |
get_play_by_play | Full play-by-play for a game |
get_schedule | Games on a specific date (no season filter; see get_team_schedule) |
get_injuries | Injury reports across all teams |
get_transactions | Recent transactions |
get_futures | Futures/odds markets |
get_team_stats | Team statistical profile |
get_player_stats | Player statistical profile |
find_nhl_player | Search the NHL's player registry by name |
get_nhlstats_schedule | Games via the NHL API — team seasons to the Original Six era, NHL game ids |
get_nhlstats_player_stats | Career season-by-season across leagues via NHL API |
get_nhlstats_player_game_log | One player's games in a season (opponent, home/away, result, stat line) via NHL API |
get_nhlstats_play_by_play | Play-by-play with on-ice x/y coordinates, zone, shot type |
get_nhlstats_boxscore | Full box score (skaters + goalies) via NHL API |
get_nhlstats_standings | Standings, current or any historical date (back to 1917) |
get_nhlstats_leaders | Skater and goalie leaders by category |
See references/api-reference.md for full parameter lists and return shapes.
Using ESPN and the NHL API Together
The get_nhlstats_* commands read api-web.nhle.com — the NHL's current API.
(The retired statsapi.web.nhl.com, which most community docs still describe,
no longer resolves.) It carries the analytics layer ESPN does not: on-ice shot
coordinates, cross-league career rows, goalie leaders, and history to the
Original Six era. The two sources use unrelated id systems:
- Game ids. NHL ids are 10 digits encoding season/type/game
(
2023030417); ESPN uses 9-digit event ids (401559593). No shared column — join on the game date plus teams. - Team abbreviations. Five teams differ: ESPN
LA/NJ/SJ/TB/UTAHvs NHLLAK/NJD/SJS/TBL/UTA. Everyget_nhlstats_*team filter accepts either spelling, and rows carry both (team_abbreviation,team_abbreviation_espn). - Player ids. NHL player ids (
8478402) and ESPN athlete ids are unrelated. Resolve names withfind_nhl_player; ASCII spellings match accented names ("stutzle" finds "Tim Stützle"). - Career rows span leagues.
get_nhlstats_player_statsreturns every league a player appeared in, each row labelled withleagueandis_nhl— filter tois_nhlbefore summing career numbers. A player traded mid-season has one NHL row per team plus ateam: "TOTAL"row (is_total: true, counting stats summed, rate stats omitted); skipis_totalrows when summing. - Seasons. Pass the starting year (
season=2024means 2024-25). The NHL form ("20242025") is also accepted. - How a final was decided.
statusis the NHL's game state (OFF/FINALfor any final).decided_byon schedule rows and box scores isREG,OTorSO(nulluntil final). Shootout scores follow the official result: the winner is credited one goal (a 1-1 game won in the shootout is 2-1). - Blocked shots. In
get_nhlstats_play_by_play,team_idandplayeron ablocked-shotrow are the shooter's (the NHL's event owner); the box score'sblockedShotscredits the defender, given asblocking_playerandblocking_team_id. Count blocks byblocking_team_id.
Examples
Example 1: Today's scores User says: "What are today's NHL scores?" Actions:
- Call
get_scoreboard()Result: All live and recent NHL games with scores and status
Example 2: Conference standings User says: "Show me the Eastern Conference standings" Actions:
- Derive season year from
currentDate - Call
get_standings(season=<derived_year>) - Filter results for Eastern Conference Result: Eastern Conference standings with W-L-OTL, points, regulation wins
Example 3: Team roster User says: "Who's on the Maple Leafs roster?" Actions:
- Call
get_team_roster(team_id="21")Result: Full Maple Leafs roster with name, position, jersey number, shoots/catches
Example 4: Game box score User says: "Show me the full box score for last night's Bruins game" Actions:
- Call
get_scoreboard(date="<yesterday>")to find the event_id - Call
get_game_summary(event_id=<id>)for full box score Result: Complete box score with per-player stats and scoring plays
Example 5: Stanley Cup odds User says: "What are the Stanley Cup odds?" Actions:
- Call
get_futures(limit=10)Result: Top Stanley Cup contenders with odds values
Example 6: Player statistics User says: "Show me Connor McDavid's stats" Actions:
- Derive season year from
currentDate - Call
get_player_stats(player_id="3895074", season_year=<derived_year>)Result: Season stats by category with value, rank, and per-game averages
Commands that DO NOT exist — never call these
get_oddsget_betting_oddssearch_teamsget_teamsinstead.get_box_scoreget_game_summaryinstead.get_player_ratingsget_player_statsinstead.
If a command is not listed in the Commands table above, it does not exist.
Error Handling
When a command fails, do not surface raw errors to the user. Instead:
- Catch silently and try alternatives
- If team name given instead of ID, use
get_teamsto find the ID first - Only report failure with a clean message after exhausting alternatives
Troubleshooting
Error: sports-skills command not found
Cause: Package not installed
Solution: Run pip install sports-skills
Error: Team not found by ID
Cause: Wrong or outdated ESPN team ID used
Solution: Call get_teams to get the current list of all NHL teams with their IDs (expansion teams like the Seattle Kraken and Utah Mammoth have non-sequential IDs)
Error: No data returned for a future game
Cause: ESPN only returns data for completed or in-progress games
Solution: Use get_schedule to see upcoming game details; get_scoreboard only covers active/recent games
Error: Offseason — scoreboard returns 0 events
Cause: No games scheduled during the offseason (July–September)
Solution: Use get_standings or get_news instead; use get_schedule to find when the season resumes
FAQ
What does the nhl-data skill do?
NHL data via ESPN public endpoints and the official NHL API — scores, standings, rosters, schedules, game summaries, injuries, futures, leaders, and news, plus an analytics backend: play-by-play with on-ice coordinates, cross-league career rows, skater/goalie leaders, and history to 1917. Zero config, no API keys. Use when: user asks about NHL scores, standings, team rosters, schedules, game stats, box scores, play-by-play, injuries, transactions, betting futures, team/player statistics, NHL news, shot locations, career stats, skater/goalie leaders, or historical NHL seasons. Don't use when: user asks about other hockey leagues (AHL, KHL, college hockey). For other sports use: nfl-data (NFL), nba-data (NBA), wnba-data (WNBA), mlb-data (MLB), football-data (soccer), tennis-data (tennis), golf-data (golf), cricket-data (cricket), cfb-data (college football), cbb-data (college basketball), fastf1 (F1). For betting odds use polymarket or kalshi. For news use sports-news.
How do I install nhl-data?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/machina-sports/sports-skills --skill nhl-data in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/nhl-data/ (personal) or .claude/skills/nhl-data/ (project).
Which AI agents can use nhl-data?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is nhl-data safe to install?
No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.
Who maintains nhl-data?
It is published by machina-sports in machina-sports/sports-skills. It has 685 recorded installs.
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