He got into a fight in his second game, against the Ottawa Senators, with Zdeno Chára, and sustained a broken orbital bone due to a late punch after he was down.

Ivanāns scored his first NHL goal against Marty Turco the Dallas Stars on October 12, 2006.

On July 1, 2010, Raitis signed a two-year deal as a free agent with the Calgary Flames,[4] and made his Flames debut on October 7, 2010 in the 2010-11 season opening against Edmonton Oilers; however he suffered a debilitating concussion during a third period fight with Oilers' heavyweight Steve MacIntyre.

[5] On October 20, 2011, Ivanāns was sent to the Abbotsford Heat by Calgary,[6] where he scored his first goal of the season on November 11 against the Texas Stars.

During the 2012-13 season, he failed to establish a lasting role in 39 games with Riga, and was released prior to the second year of his contract.