Hartley's success with the Bears caught the eye of then-Avalanche general manager Pierre Lacroix, who was looking for a replacement for Marc Crawford, who had suddenly resigned after a surprising first round playoff exit. Hartley was hired as the team's second head coach since the relocation to Denver on June 2, 1998. In his first season with the Avalanche, the team got off to a 2–1–6 start, the mediocre start prompted skeptics to question the hiring. When the team caught fire in mid-December, they won their first Northwest Division title and fifth-straight overall. During the 1999 Stanley Cup playoffs, the team defeated the San Jose Sharks in the first round and halted the Detroit Red Wings quest for a three-peat before bowing to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Dallas Stars in the Western Finals. Hartley's second season saw the team win their sixth consecutive division title along with playoff victories over the Phoenix Coyotes and a rematch with the Red Wings before bowing to the defending champion Dallas in the Western Final for the second consecutive year.