Jay Zwally suggested this might happen back in December 2007
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/12/071212-AP-arctic-melt.html
After the record melt of the summer before it didn't sound like that much of a long shot.
Given the 2008 summer was the second lowest level on record it still doesn't seem like a long shot
Given what the Arctic is doing at the moment (in the middle of winter) it still seems likely that 2012 might be closer to the correct date than the 2040 predicted by the main stream, it is now a case that we have to have a cold summer or there is every likelihood the level will go below the 2007 record.
http://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index/images/daily_images/N_timeseries.png