As the Calgary Flames embark upon their pre-season schedule, which begins on Sunday evening in Seattle, they have a few decisions to make.

Sure, on paper, a lot of the roster is likely decided. While a good camp can change some minds, established National Hockey League players don’t usually play their way off the roster unless someone excessive happens with their performances in camp. So for the most part, the Flames probably have a lot of their group for Oct. 9 opener in Vancouver functionally set.

But they have a few decisions on the fringes to make, and the waiver status of a few key individuals could be a deciding factor in who remains with the Flames and who heads to the Wranglers.

On paper, a lot of spots seem to be cemented.

In goal, Dan Vladar is a lock as the returning incumbent netminder with the most NHL experience.

On the blueline, it’s a safe bet that five spots are already spoke for by Rasmus Andersson, MacKenzie Weegar, Jake Bean, Kevin Bahl and Daniil Miromanov.

Up front, it seems like 11 spots are locked up by Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri, Andrei Kuzmenko, Yegor Sharangovich, Mikael Backlund, Blake Coleman, Anthony Mantha, Connor Zary, Martin Pospisil, Ryan Lomberg and Kevin Rooney. (I know there’s some skepticism about Rooney as the fourth-line centre, but he was effective in the role down the stretch and is one of the few established centres with NHL experience in camp.)

So that leaves an opening in goal, two on the blueline and two (or three) for forwards.

In goal, the contenders are Dustin Wolf and Devin Cooley. Wolf is waiver exempt this season, while Cooley requires waivers.

On the blueline, the contenders are Joel Hanley, Tyson Barrie, Brayden Pachal, and Ilya Solovyov. All four players would require waivers to send to the AHL. (Barrie’s on a try-out, so they could just cut him outright if he doesn’t make the team.)

Among the forwards, the likely contenders are Matt Coronato, Adam Klapka, Jakob Pelletier and Walker Duehr. Coronato and Klapka are waiver exempt, while Pelletier and Duehr require waivers.

If you’re the Flames, you’re not going to field an inferior roster just to avoid putting somebody on waivers – the team’s aim is to be competitive, and they’re not going to undermine that goal just to engage in waiver shenanigans. That said, the Flames are one of a few teams in the league that has their AHL affiliate in the same city as their NHL parent, and swapping players to and from the farm team is relatively simple and painless compared to what other clubs have to endure.

If they want to avoid dangling somebody like Cooley, Solovyov or Pelletier on the waiver wire – to name three names off the top of my head – the Flames could simply send waiver exempt players like Wolf, Coronato or Klapka to the farm team. Would that be the best thing for those players’ continued progression and development? That’s unclear, and we may be entering a uniquely challenging period where the club’s roster needs and its young players’ developmental needs are occasionally in conflict.

The Flames really like Cooley, that’s why they sought him out in free agency. The Flames really like Solovyov and Pelletier, that’s why they drafted and developed them over the past several seasons. The Flames would prefer not to lose somebody they like for virtually no compensation on the waiver wire.

Suffice it to say, the Flames have some decisions to make between now and the roster deadline on Oct. 7, as they attempt to put together the strongest possible roster without potentially losing somebody on waivers.