So I just checked that same area this morning and I'm just amazed at what I'm seeing right now. First and foremost is how clear it has been in that entire region. It's usually extremely cloudy there, but this has been the longest stretch without thicc clouds I have seen in the arctic since I've been following it. I'm not sure how these conditions will play out the rest of the year, but I can't imagine it being "good."
Either way, over the course of the last 24 hours it looks like drift has picked up significantly with a larger and more fragmented gap beginning to appear. After looking at the same date going back to 2014, nothing quite compares. Granted, there does appear to be a constant eastern/northeastern flow of ice, with cracks, but what makes this year unique is the already substantial gap and the amount of fractures within the central pack itself.
Feel free to take a look for yourselves, but my initial feeling is that this entire crack will emerge again this year.