TAMPA, Fla. — They call it the “Champion’s League.”



There’s no big-money purse for this informal golf outing each summer in Michigan, but plenty of bragging rights. And bruised egos.



“You’ve got to have a really thick skin,” said Bob Daniels, long-time Ferris State University hockey coach.



The members you may know. Lightning coach Jon Cooper, 50, and Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill, 44, are the headliners, along with Daniels, who is dubbed “The Godfather” after his three decades on the Big Rapids, Michigan, campus.



Blashill’s brother, Tim, who works at Ferris with Daniels, plays, as does Lightning video coach Brian Garlock, a former Ferris student.



Another regular is Derek Lalonde, 45, who was recently added to Cooper’s Lightning staff as an assistant.



Lalonde has been in Cooper’s circle for two decades. The friendships between Cooper, Lalonde and Blashill...