IJIS number for July 3 was -88K. So we've had a couple of days of slowdown, but we're essentially tied with 2012 and 2011, and only lag 2010 by 100K or so (but 2010's slowdown began about now). It seems like the easy, "sure thing," ice has melted, and if this year is going to stay with the record low years, it's going to have to pick up the pace in the Kara, Laptev, Beaufort, CAA, and maybe the Chukchi. I think the ESS will explode shortly, but the extent won't decline for some time after that as the ice floes spread out. The Greenland Sea may even gain some ice from the looks of the HYCOM drift maps. The CAB, as far as I can tell, is a big slushy mess, but there is a lot of it, so it will take some time. My guess is a few more days of slower melt, and then we'll see where the weather takes us.
Now that I've said that, I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised to see a week of record melt. The ice is crap, and the weather has finally started to warm up.