Well, in my opinion, the intangibles Brule brings (this is exclusively in the top six, by the way) are irrelevant. I don't care if he hustles more, passes better, can win face-offs or is very good defensively. All of Doan, Ribeiro, Boedker, Hanzal, and Vrbata are adequate to excellent defensively and play with a good amount of hustle. These are smart players that play the right way. The one thing I want to see in that top six is another guy (besides Vrbata and I suppose Doan) that is able to finish off Mike Ribeiro chances effectively. I think Guillaume Latendresse is well suited for this task. He's got very good positioning, and and excellent shot selection to choose from. The guy can score goals well and in a variety of ways. It's really all he can do and basically every other area leaves you wanting. To me, that's fine. The only thing I want from him is to get open, accept passes, and bury chances. It is my opinion that Latendress is a much better fit for this purpose than is Gilbert Brule. I like Brule and I want him on the team. I am just excited about the prospect of Latendresse on Ribeiro's line.
If you meant the Czech line, rather than the Ribs line, than that's a slightly different story. If I've got Lats and Doan on the Ribs line, than I want Boedker on the Czech line. I'm not pushing him down in favor of Brule. I think Boedker's better suited for it.
The good news is that there is room for both.
Latendresse-Ribeiro-Doan
Boedker-Hanzal-Vrbata
Korpikoski-Vermette-Moss
Klinkhammer-Chipchura-Brule
Bissonnette
If Brule proves capable of being a more effective offensive threat and earns better linemates, than I'd trade Moss and call up Brown or Yip. Saves money.