Gray-Wolf, Magnamentis,
What you are describing is a problem with extent, but not with area. According to the Home Brew numbers, area is running slightly further behind 2012 than extent, so there isn't any evidence that this year is fundamentally different from other years in that sense. In fact, 2017 is ahead of 2015 in terms of extent, but behind for area, and further behind 2016 for area than extent. The ice in the central basin has been pretty fragmented in summer for a number of years now, and while this year is bad, it doesn't seem to be significantly worse than other years since 2012.