Let me link to a graph of Arctic sea ice volume.

https://goo.gl/LVwhWB

First, ice scientists define a summer meltout as a drop below 1,000 km3.  There's going to be some ice back in nooks and crannies and shoved up against leeward shores even when the vast amount of open water is ice free.

Now, look at the lowest line, the pinkish curve.  That's 2012.  Ice volume bottomed out at about 3,700 km3.  

Now look over to the left at the red, partial line.  That's this year.  It's about 2,000 km3 below any other year.  3,700 - 2,000 = 1,700.  Not that far off 1,000.

The ice is very broken up.  The days of solid ice where one could travel over it are gone.  As the summer melts the ice 'pieces' will melt around their edges and be shoved around by the wind.  If we get a big storm or two with wind aimed toward Greenland we could see a very large amount of ice flushed out the Fram Strait where it would melt in the Atlantic.

Will it happen this year?  Don't know.  Could.

What Gore said.